The future of concussion research in college sports might be in jeopardy as discussions continue over the funding needed to sustain the major research program. The NCAA, the governing body of college athletics, remains noncommittal about funding a concussion research project it has supported for the last 12 years.
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The Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium was launched in 2014 by the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense to study concussions and their effects on athletes. The research covered how head injuries occurred, their symptoms, and the potential long-term consequences.
According to Sportico, the NCAA is unsure about its role in the future funding of the CARE Consortium. The publication spoke to an NCAA spokesperson, who said that the governing body is “engaged in ongoing discussions regarding the next steps.” However, the spokesperson didn’t confirm whether the NCAA would continue to provide its share of the $42.65 million grant that the project last secured in 2021 for a five-year period.
That funding is set to expire at the end of October. Sportico also reported on the Department of Defense’s share of the grant. At the beginning of the year, Congress reduced the money allocated to the Department of Defense for basic scientific research by 4.9%.
Since then, the department has changed its research priorities. Most of the funds are now automatically allocated towards military-related research. The Consortium is currently trying to secure funding from the Pentagon. The research body is optimistic that the federal government money will eventually come through.
The amount of funding CARE is seeking for its next five-year research phase is still unknown. The last grant involved contributions of $25M from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, $7.65 M from the Defense Health Agency, and $10 M from the NCAA, as reported by Sportico.
The CARE Consortium’s research is currently led by four institutions: the University of Michigan, Indiana University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Uniformed Services University.
As of now, the official website of the NCAA includes an ‘NCAA Concussion Research & Initiatives’ section, which primarily focuses on the CARE Consortium’s research over the last 12 years. The website notes that the Consortium’s goals are rooted in the “desire to enhance the health, safety and performance of NCAA student-athletes and service members.”
It can’t be overstated how critical concussion research is in identifying the long-term effects of concussion on athletes. A new study published in Neurology in March 2026 found that multiple concussions were associated with worse health. The study was funded by CARE. Many scholars have praised the Consortium’s research for helping people understand the severity of these injuries.
“It was really these data from the CARE Consortium that ignited the focus on football practice policy and guidelines,” said Michael McCrea, PhD, professor and eminent scholar at the Medical College of Wisconsin.