APPLE Model

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The Athletic Prevention Programming and Leadership Education (APPLE) model is built on the belief that all members of an athletics department must be enfranchised and empowered to help create an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, including lower-risk use of alcohol for those of legal age and avoidance of illegal and performance-enhancing drugs.  The formal components--policies, regulations, education, accountability procedures and consequences of infractions -- are the necessary foundation on which to build prevention efforts.  But these efforts can only be successful if the informal components -- recruitment messages, role models, and unwritten expectations -- reflect and extend the message that substance misuse prevention is a departmental priority and is everyone's concern.

There are seven distinct areas where athletics departments can address substance misuse. Discover how your athletics department can enhance alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse prevention efforts by examining the “slices” of the APPLE and assessing your department's strengths and weaknesses in substance misuse prevention.

Clicking on each "slice" of the model on the cards below will show you the guiding principles, examples of evidence-based interventions specific to that topic and examples from previous APPLE attendees. You can review all of the slices in this PDF.

  • The athletics department has a uniform, written policy to guide all members of the department and prospective student-athletes in preventing substance misuse throughout the recruiting process.

  • The athletics department has a written, positive values statement or policy that applies to all individuals affiliated with the department.

  • The athletics department has a uniform, written policy requiring substance misuse education for student-athletes, cheerleaders, student managers and athletic training students/volunteers that is in addition to required NCAA education on banned drugs and the products that may contain them.

  • The athletics department’s written policies offer a range of clearly specified responses to substance misuse policy violations by teams and individuals, including student-athletes, cheerleaders, student managers, and athletic training students/volunteers.

  • The athletics department has a department-wide, written policy prohibiting substance misuse, incorporating standards consistent with federal legislation, state law, and NCAA regulations.

  • The athletics department has a department-wide, written policy that complies with NCAA drug testing administrative duties and assures that compliance forms are explained and signed. Student-athletes agree to NCAA drug testing during championship events and to NCAA year-round testing as approved by their division.

  • The athletics department has a department-wide, written policy that specifies the criteria for referrals to counseling or other appropriate services for substance misuse concerns.