Fair competition is the objective. Whether it's football or any other sport, Notre Dame’s mission is to create a level playing field. The school’s drug testing program, about 20 years old now, goes to great lengths to try to make sure Irish athletes are above reproach.

What Notre Dame has done over the years has made dealing with the NCAA drug policy much easier. Dr. James Moriarity, in his 23rd year as the head university physician, and his staff have been committed to a thorough and comprehensive drug screening for all Notre Dame athletes.

What Notre Dame does takes the NCAA drug testing program a step – or two – further. Every year, the NCAA will give each university a 48-hour notice that it will be on campus for random drug testing. Football is the primary sport probed. The NCAA is given a player roster and about 18 random athletes are chosen for urine testing.

According to Moriarity, testing targets anabolic steroids, which can't be masked in a two-day period. "The biggest difference between NCAA testing now and, say 15 years ago, is the penalties," Moriarity said. "We all believe in education. Most kids that take steroids don't do it out of the lack of knowledge – that it's illegal and can be harmful. They do it because they want the benefits of it.

"They know. Education alone wasn't working. The penalty system: If you took it knowingly or unknowingly or it's a supplement that was contaminated, you're out a year. There's no recourse. Twice, you're done forever."

The NCAA has zero tolerance. There's no gray area. Each athlete is responsible for what's in the body. "The colleges are fairly closely scrutinized," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "It's a lot tougher than the pros. The pros, every week there's a random list of seven guys, unless someone's already in the program and is tested every week. Here, in college, it'd be pretty tough, the way they do it, for someone to get away with something."

It's even tougher at Notre Dame. Moriarity said, in addition to the NCAA screening, Notre Dame has urine screenings for its football players twice a season. Also, throughout the course of a school year, a majority of the 700 athletes on campus are summoned to give hair samples that will be tested for street drugs.

Shaved heads don't slow the process. Moriarity said hair from anywhere on the body, or even fingernails, will give the same results.

One positive test will result in sanctions and requirements put on the athlete. "We'll allow one transgression," Moriarity said. A second positive test will result in dismissal. In his 23 years at Notre Dame, Moriarity estimates dismissal cases, "more than zero, but not double digits." "In '88, '89, (Notre Dame) got very, very serious (about drug testing)," Moriarity said. "We're still very serious. "We really, really felt the need to prove to the world we were a clean program. We were very, very diligent about testing.

"Every institution in the country needs to be accountable that they're putting a fair team on the field." If that can be accomplished, Moriarity feels it defuses any problems before they happen. "All the institutions you play against should be tested in that way," he said. "My belief is the main reason people use drugs like that is they truly don't want to be left behind in terms of competitive enhancement."

Moriarity is pleased with the advancements that have developed on the national and local levels, in terms of drug testing. Still, there's one area that makes him uneasy.

Nutritional supplements. In Moriarity's mind, there's no substitute for fruits and vegetables. "I get request after request after request from companies that want to supply our athletes with supplements," Moriarity said. "The biggest problem that faces an athlete nowadays is contaminated supplements (with anabolic steroids). I won't approve any supplement.

"The supplement industry in the United States is not regulated. Period. It's still a haven for illegal chemists to infiltrate and put their products in. The minuscule benefits, I'll say that twice – minuscule benefits – are not worth the risk they're taking.

"It's a very fraudulent industry. I'd like to see it regulated much more closely than it is and made accountable."