December 20, 2004
Leach approved Ephedra for Red Raiders
A Texas Public Information Act records release to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reveals that Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach approved orders of Ephedra and other stimulants in 2002 and 2003, despite a 1997 NCAA ban against the substance.
The records reflect that Tech ordered Thermo Speed (340 milligrams of ephedra per 20-ounce bottle), Jacked (200 milligrams of caffeine per bottle) and Power Drive, advertised as containing guarana and green tea extract, which both are sources of caffeine.
From the beginning of the 2002-03 school year to the middle of 2003-04, invoices show Tech paid over $49,000 for nearly 33,000 bottles of Jacked and approximately $25,500 for 1,263 bottles of Power Drive.
The actions also appear to violate NCAA bylaw 16.5.2 (g), which says school can only provide carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters, and vitamins and minerals, provided that they do not contain banned substances (like...I don't know...Ephedra, maybe?)
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Pete Holiday said:
posted on December 20, 2004 1:08 PM — 209.16.242.81 — link — abuse?Hopefully this will not result in too much for Leach -- expecting the coaches to know every thing in the supplements that their trainers are giving out is a bit much, I think.
So long as the individual responsible for their purchase was made aware of the NCAA regulations, I can't imagine this being the coach's responsibility.
Also, note that the former head of the supplment program (Aaron Shelley) recently plead guilty to money laundering and fraud for his work at Texas Tech.