| AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas officials said Monday that student athletes at the school were not put at risk by taking nutritional supplements provided by the athletic department and that it did not disregard orders from the NCAA.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday that nearly $120,000 in dietary supplements that are not permitted for distribution by schools were purchased by athletic departments at Texas and Texas A&M.
Between fall 2000 and spring 2004, the programs purchased 21 products containing certain muscle-building ingredients.
Texas released correspondence it believes shows NCAA officials had signed off on the supplements before they were distributed to athletes.
"The University of Texas operates a broad-based, world-class athletics department with 20 sports and some 700 student athletes," athletic director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement. "We are concerned that these elite athletes are cared for in the right way. We have a history of being a leader in health-care delivery."
David Batson, Texas A&M University director of athletic compliance, told the Star-Telegram the school was not aware that banned ingredients were being purchased until after reviewing records requested by the newspaper.
Batson said he was unaware of any positive drug tests or adverse health issues related to the purchases.
A&M athletic director Bill Byrne noted the school hired a full-time nutritionist, Amy Bragg, in the spring of 2004 to help identify banned substances.
"We are one of the few schools in the country to now have," a nutritionist, Byrne said in a statement Monday. "She continues to keep abreast of what is allowed and what is not."
Texas spent nearly $90,000 on supplements labeled as containing added amino acids, the newspaper reported. Among those who made the purchases was Jeff Madden, the school's assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning.
Tina Bonci, co-director of sports medicine and athletic training at Texas, said the school believed it was operating within the rules when it bought the products containing amino acids.
Correspondence from a member of the NCAA's membership services staff, Steve Mallonee, described the products as permissible soon after the bylaw that prohibited them went into effect.
But Mallonee told the Star-Telegram that his approval was based strictly on information submitted by the university, which sought a review of the products based on their percentages of protein and not their actual ingredients.
Under NCAA rules, schools may dispense only four categories of supplements: vitamins and minerals, energy bars, carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks and carbohydrate boosters. The supplements must have a protein content of less than 30 percent and be free of banned substances, as well as certain ingredients defined by the NCAA as muscle-building.
Texas officials said the school stopped distributing the supplements once it learned there was a problem.
They also noted the substances are legal and available for purchase and consumption by an athlete at the store and taking them would not result in a positive test of a banned substance. The NCAA, however, prohibits schools from distributing them.
Dr. Steven Leslie, dean of the Texas college of pharmacy, said the supplements taken by the school's athletes are safe when taken properly.
"There is no issue of a health risk here," Leslie said.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004-2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Hmmmmm..... Somewhat interesting. | 
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