PARENTS & ATHLETES
Working Behind the Scenes to Keep You Playing Safe
Understanding Sports Injuries & Keeping Athletes Safe
Since 2006, the Datalys Center has been dedicated to understanding and preventing sports injuries. It was founded in partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), BioCrossroads, and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to support researchers, public health officials, and policymakers in making sports safer.
As a non-profit 501(c)3, we specialize in epidemiological research—collecting, analyzing, and sharing data to identify trends in sports injuries and illnesses. Our team of scientists, epidemiologists, and data specialists works to improve athlete safety at all levels, from youth sports to collegiate athletics.
How Our Research Helps Athletes
We are the only research laboratory in the country that collects data from all youth spectrums, using the same methodology and technology to compare data from 25 sports across 140 schools and 150 colleges.
By sharing this data with district and state high school associations, national governing bodies, youth sports organizations, coaches, players, and parents, we empower communities to make informed decisions that protect athletes while they pursue their goals.
A Multicenter, Multiyear Commitment
Datalys Center primarily supports furthering understanding and preventing youth sports injuries and illnesses by carefully managing injury surveillance programs. These programs allow us to work closely with your athlete’s school’s athletic trainers, coaches, and sports professionals to track injuries and illnesses. This surveillance offers a view into what factors could be causing these injuries and how to best prevent them.
Datalys Center Injury Surveillance Programs
National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP).
The NCAA-ISP has been ongoing since 1983 and managed by the Datalys Center since 2009. Designed to track illnesses and injuries resulting from sports participation, this program has been instrumental in monitoring trends over time, informing policy and sports rule changes, and empowering organizations to make evidence-based decisions.
Nation-SP
Started in 2010, the High School National Athletic Treatment, Injury, and Outcomes Network Surveillance Program was the first project to integrate injury surveillance, treatment, and patient outcomes using data gathered by Athletic Trainers in public high schools.
High School RIO™
Managed by Datalys Since 2019, and ongoing since 2005, High School RIO™ is an online data collection tool used in the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. High School RIO™ captures injury event data weekly throughout the academic year using certified athletic trainers as data reporters.
Project Concussion Assessment Research and Education (CARE)
Ongoing since 2014, Datalys Center has worked as a subcontractor of Indiana University and the Department of Defense to study the natural history of concussions and to enhance the safety of NCAA student-athletes and military service members.
Consortium for Catastrophic Injury Monitoring in Sport
As a member of this consortium, Datalys Center supports the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR) in improving the reporting and monitoring of catastrophic sports injuries.