Steve Sarkisian has suggestion for how to fix injury report problems

Sep 3, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks in the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Sarkisian has a simple suggestion for how college football can get coaches to be honest about injury reporting.

The SEC is very aware that gambling has become a huge factor among fans, especially now that numerous states have legalized gambling on sports. The SEC is considering implementing injury reports that they would call “availability reports.”

What incentive would coaches have to be truthful on these injury reports? Sarkisian suggests penalizing coaches with fines to keep them honest.

“Fine us. That’s what they do in the NFL. I’m a big believer in this,” Sarkisian said Wednesday from the league’s spring meetings. “The NFL has figured a lot of this stuff out already, they’ve already had to live through all of these things that have occurred. We don’t have to try to recreate the wheel so much. If I try to game the system & I don’t report a guy, fine us. We all like the money that we make. That’s really a simple way for us to adhere to the rules.”

The SEC has not yet implemented mandatory injury reporting among football programs the way the NFL has. But they are considering it, and it seems like availability reports are imminent. When that time does come, Sark believes you have fines in place as deterrents.