National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System Commentaries: Introduction and Methods‪.‬

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) have partnered to publish this special issue in recognition of the 25-year relationship between these organizations in the collection and use of athletic injury information at the collegiate level. The NCAA Injury Surveillance System (ISS) is currently the largest collegiate athletic injury database in continuous operation in the world. The publishing of this volume (16 years of data from the 1988-1989 through 2003-2004 academic years for 15 sports) will provide a resource upon which to base safety and risk management decisions and to further injury prevention research. The Journal of Athletic Training is the appropriate venue for this information because the success of the ISS has always depended on the annual volunteer data collection efforts of hundreds of certified athletic trainers. These individuals are critical to the success of the system. BACKGROUND: COLLEGIATE SPORTS AND THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION