This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Several times a week, a graduate assistant trainer fills a large blue jug with milk and several bags of a powdered shake, then mixes the carbohydrate-protein concoction with an oversized whisk.
The jug is placed in the University of Utah's weight room, where athletes such as football player Travis LaTendresse can get a post-workout boost.
"It's great after a hard workout," LaTendresse said. "It helps our muscles repair."
Also available are canned shakes and energy bars, all provided free to the university by MET-Rx, a supplement manufacturer. MET-Rx provides Utah with about $50,000 worth of supplements yearly in exchange for advertising at university events.
Utah isn't the only program to have such a deal with MET-Rx or the many other companies that market supplements and sports nutrition products. MET-Rx alone has 20 such agreements with Division I athletic programs, the most in the country, said Chris Kildow, the company's marketing manager for team sports.
"It's a good marketing platform for us to reach student-athletes and to show off different forms of our product and how they help athletes in their training," Kildow said.
The NCAA isn't so sure about that.
The organization that oversees intercollegiate sports is growing increasingly alarmed over such deals. NCAA officials cite the confusion over what supplements are allowed to be provided by universities, what supplements student-athletes are allowed to buy themselves, and what supplements are banned altogether.
In addition, some consider even harmless supplements "gateway" drugs, because they might encourage athletes to try other, more harmful enhancements such as steroids.
"The NCAA is uncomfortable with [the sponsorships]," says Andrea Wickerham, the legal relations and policy director with the Center for Drug Free Sport, the organization that oversees the NCAA's drug-testing programs and policies. "The NCAA won't tell the schools they can't do it, but it does send mixed messages."
"Bigger. Better. Stronger." Much of the NCAA's concern rises out of the confusion over what supplements are legal for schools to distribute. Allowable supplements must fit into the following categories: carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters and vitamins or minerals. However, the products can't contain more than 30 percent of their calories from protein, and they may not contain any banned substances. Amino acids are impermissible supplements and are not allowed to be distributed by the institution.
The strict guidelines mean much of the products supplement companies manufacture can't be provided by the schools. However, the NCAA does allow student-athletes to buy them themselves.
Still others, such as ephedrine, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, are banned altogether.
At Utah, officials say they are grateful for the presence of MET-Rx products.
"MET-Rx does so much for us," says Barry Johnson, Utah's strength and conditioning coach. "Having the proper nutrition available for our athletes is a big factor. We don't want them working out on empty stomachs because you can get light-headed and giving them something after they work out helps them recover."
MET-Rx's Web site touts the ability of its products - a variety of high-protein shakes, mixes and bars - to help athletes get "Bigger. Better. Stronger." That appeals to many male athletes, notes one of Utah's star women gymnasts.
"Guys tend to want to have results faster and get more caught up in that win-at-all-costs thing," says Utah gymnast Annabeth Eberle, who uses supplements on a limited basis. "Some guys want to put on more muscle or weight, but as a gymnast, it's a very weight-sensitive sport. I'd rather get my calories from good-tasting food."
Athletes at Utah must have any supplements they buy approved by someone on the training staff. That safeguard prevented LaTendresse from taking what he thought was a harmless multivitamin pack that, on further scrutiny, contained substances banned by the NCAA.
"It's a minefield," says LaTendresse of supplements in general. He considers himself more knowledgeable than most athletes because he has studied such products for his major - exercise and sports science. "My personal experience is I don't want to mess with anything that can put my eligibility at risk. The best thing to do is have a good work ethic and work hard and not take any supplements."
Utah's athletes are given seminars on supplements and nutrition by Claudia Wilson, the university's sports nutritionist.
While wary of many supplements, the MET-Rx products given to the university have her nod of approval.
"MET-Rx, at a cost-effective rate, helps us fuel our players," she says. "I certainly don't want to make blanket statements, but there are certain supplements that can be helpful. Our students are busy, and the meal replacement bars and the drinks are very helpful."
Nonetheless, the ethical implications of being sponsored by a supplement company have begun to concern university officials.
"We've been with MET-Rx a long time, but I'm not aware of all that MET-Rx does," acknowledges Utah athletic director Chris Hill. "We are going to look at it; we don't want to send a wrong message."
Little oversight: The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, sponsored by Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch, lifted most federal regulatory oversight of supplement companies. A strong backer of the state's growing supplement industry - which has in turn supported the senator's campaign coffers - Hatch himself uses herbal products and multivitamin supplements.
The act essentially classifies supplements as foods and not drugs, and puts the responsibility for proving a supplement dangerous on the FDA, rather than demanding the company prove the product is safe.
Supplement makers are required to disclose their products' ingredients on labels, but even labels aren't always accurate. Some products may contain banned substances, resulting in positive drug tests.
In a study funded by the International Olympic Committee, over-the-counter nutritional supplements were purchased through the Internet, phone orders and shops and pharmacies. Approximately 15 percent of the samples were found to contain non-labeled ingredients that could provide a positive drug test.
"Carbo, electrolyte and energy drinks are OK, but even some of them used to contain ephedrine, which is banned now," says Mary Wilfert, the NCAA's assistant director of education outreach. "Student-athletes have to check out anything they are ingesting because this industry is so wide open.
"Our general philosophy is that athletes should get their nutrition through food," Wilfert says. "Supplements are unnecessary and carry risks. There are whole foods that work much better."
The scenario of an athlete unknowingly taking a banned substance purportedly played out with one Utah athlete two years ago. A football player, Zach Tune, tested positive for banned substances and was declared ineligible by the NCAA as a result. He claimed the only supplement he was taking was bought at a local store and didn't list any banned substances.
Because of such instances, the NCAA generally frowns on any supplements, no matter how harmless they might seem to be, and doesn't like the growing relationships between supplement companies.
"We don't think it is right at all," said Rachel Olander, a dietary supplement resource specialist with the Center for Drug Free Sport. "We tell kids that any dietary supplement is a risk."
A growing industry: MET-Rx is one of the most active sports nutrition companies seeking to sponsor college programs. But it's hardly alone. Gatorade, PowerBar and EAS are some of the other companies that sponsor collegiate athletic programs or competitions.
MET-Rx says its products are safe because it does its own tests on the raw ingredients and the final products. As a precaution, samples of the ingredients and finished products are kept for a minimum of three years, according to Robert Walker, the company's executive director for sports nutrition. The company sees the saved samples as its own insurance, in case an athlete tests positive for banned substances and claims it came from a MET-Rx product.
"We're a $2 billion company, and we're not going to cut corners," Walker said. "It's a lot easier to admit being stupid than to admit you're a cheat."
In 2000, when the NCAA came out with its current, stricter guidelines on supplements, MET-Rx reformulated some of its products and sells them as the "Collegiate Series," which are specifically manufactured to meet the NCAA's guidelines of what schools can distribute to their athletes.
"They were the first ones who did something other than just give lip service," says Doc Kreis, UCLA's speed-strength and conditioning coach at UCLA, one of the first schools to collaborate with MET-Rx. "Since there isn't an agency out there that does this for us, they went ahead and did it and addressed our needs."
The availability of preapproved supplements gives trainers some peace of mind, but it does little to ease the worries of watchdogs of the supplement industry. Some view supplements as "gateway drugs," because they might tempt athletes to experiment with other, more potent performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids.
Wilfert, meanwhile, refuses to call anything safe because of the lack of federal regulation.
Kildow said that MET-Rx doesn't make much of a profit with the Collegiate Series because it is only a small part of what the company does. However, it's a vital marketing tool for the company, using universities and athletes to help spread the company's name.
But is it ethical? MET-Rx came under fire from health insurance giant Blue Cross and Blue Shield when it became a title sponsor for the Superstars competition aired on CBS.
Bothered by the link between the competition and many of the Olympic athletes who participated, the insurance company asked CBS to air public-service announcements to tell of the supplements' risk. CBS declined to do so. MET-Rx hasn't sponsored the competition since 2003.
Closer to home, EAS was a sponsor of the Mountain West Conference basketball championships from 2001-2003 through an agreement with ESPN. Uneasy with the alliance, the MWC put significant restrictions on what the company could advertise, and it allowed it to offer the athletes only products that were scrutinized by the NCAA's center for drug-free sport.
"Knowing our reputation, there was a concern with some of the things EAS produces," says Dan Butterly, the conference's associate commissioner. "We know the NCAA isn't excited about these types of partnerships and we've talked about it, but we've decided it's an institution's decision, not a conference policy."
University of Utah football players huddle together after a workout at the Smith Center's weight room.
Supplements' gray area:
* NCAA officials cite confusion over what supplements can be provided by universities, what supplements athletes can buy, and what supplements are banned altogether.
* Some consider supplements "gateway" drugs, because they might encourage athletes to try harmful enhancements.