Pumping Pills
In an excellent special report, "Broken College System Lets Drug Cheats Slip Through the Cracks," Michael C. Lewis and Nate Carlisle of The Salt Lake Tribune show that college athletes can go their entire careers without being tested for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Those that are tested often face minor penalties if they are caught:
When an athlete at the University of Idaho failed a drug test nearly three years ago and became one of the few collegians caught cheating with performance-enhancing drugs, something remarkable happened:
Almost nothing.
He was not publicly identified or ruled ineligible. He was not banned from competition. He was not even suspended.
Instead, he faced only continued periodic testing over the next year, according to school records, and was required to enroll in a university counseling program. The school "encouraged" him to notify his parents.
In a helpful backgrounder, "Collegiate Drug Testing: A National Survey," the authors show how they compiled their data.
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_7482021
http://extras.sltrib.com/drugtesting/schools/