CPSDA Advocacy
In 2009, The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association was formed and immediately began to advocate for registered dietitians to be hired into full-time positions while also advocating much needed feeding and recovery changes within the NCAA rules and regulations. CPSDA members provide a strong and unified voice in acquainting key stakeholders on the importance of feeding, recovering and overall-health of student-athletes. CPSDA recognizes that food deregulation and supplement changes will allow institutions to properly nourish student-athletes to help ensure their health and to enhance their athletic and academic performance.
Advocacy Timeline
August 1991
NCAA creates rule to limit meals and snacks in order to prevent better-funded athletic programs from gaining unfair advantage.
1991-2004
NCAA member schools feed athletes one meal per day up to five days a week along with snacks, which were limited to fruits, nuts and bagels.
May 2010
CPSDA is officially incorporated – dedicated to advocating for the proper feeding of college athletes – and embarks on campaign to underscore the lack of athlete nutritional support within the NCAA. News stories are published on the AP wire and in the Wall Street Journal.
June 2012
CPSDA board member Amy Freel, Director of Sport Performance Nutrition at Indiana University, becomes first sports dietitian to serve on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport.
October 2012
CPSDA issues first position stand, “Recommended Feeding Protocols For All Athletes”, on properly fueling athletes and continues campaign to lift feeding restrictions in the NCAA.
April 2014
NCAA lifts restrictions on feeding – effective August 1, 2014.
June 2015
Sports Nutrition Summit – A meeting was held to discuss the NCAA’s 30% Protein Rule Bylaw16.5. 2 (g), which currently states that “nutritional supplements containing more than 30 percent of calories from protein are classified as muscle-building supplements and may not be provided to student-athletes. Additionally, the concept of 3rd party testing supplements was discussed. In attendance at this meeting were CPSDA members Randy Bird, Amy Freel and Jen Ketterly, John Travis from NSF, Mark Kovasc from GSSI, and representatives from both Drug Free Sport and NCAA Sport Science Institute.
December 2015
CPSDA member Randy Bird, Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Virginia, was appointed as a voting member of the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards (CSMAS) and Medical Aspects of Sports through August 2019.
January 2017
The NCAA Division I Council has approved the recommendation of the NCAA CSMAS to remove restrictions on protein from the rules that govern feeding student-athletes. The rule change does away with the long-standing “30% rule,” which limited the amount of protein in nutritional supplements to no more than 30% of the total calories.
Amy Freel, former CPSDA board member and current CPSDA Executive Directory, worked with CPSDA and SCAN leadership to bring this rule change under consideration.
January 2019
Omega-3 Fatty Acids was voted on and approved to be added to the permissible nutrition supplement category. The NCAA amended legislation now allows institutions to provide Omega-3 fatty acids. The legislation now states: "An institution may provide permissible nutritional supplements to a student-athlete for the purpose of providing calories and electrolytes. Permissible nutritional supplements do not contain any NCAA banned substances and are identified according to the following classes: carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters, protein supplements, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins and minerals."
September 2019
CPSDA member Auburn Weisensale, Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh, was appointed as a voting member of the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports through August 2022.
August 2021
NCAA approves the addition of chelated minerals to the list of permissible substances an institution may provide. NCAA also added an addendum that allows lactase to be used as a food additive and for medical treatment. Randy Bird, former CSMAS Member and Auburn Weisensale, current CSMAS member worked closely with the CSMAS committee to provide appropriate scientific rationale for this change.
August 2022
NCAA lifts remaining restrictions on feeding to eliminate constraints around defining a meal vs. a snack and when a meal can be provided in conjunction with athletic participation. The new legislation reads: An institution may provide meals and snacks to a student-athlete at any time. An institution shall not provide cash for a meal unless authorized by NCAA legislation. This change further empowers RDs to provide meals and snacks that are appropriate for their athlete's needs.
November 2022
Interassociation Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition Models for the Provision of Nutrition Services From Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in Collegiate Athletics is published in the Journal of Athletic Training and authored by CPSDA members.
This document, guided by a multidisciplinary panel, introduces four sports nutrition models through which any collegiate athletic program can deliver sports RDN-directed nutrition services. In each model, the most effective staffing and scope of service are indicated and reviewed. In addition, recommended organizational structures for sports RDN are provided that best support the delivery of the model’s nutrition services in a variety of collegiate athletic programs and organizational settings. Lastly, future research initiatives and nutrition interventions to help improve the standard of care through these sport nutrition models are explored.