Northern Illinois University, in its ongoing effort to create the safest football environment for its student athletes, has partnered with SAFR Sports, a safety innovation company dedicated to making contact sports safer. This season, all NIU football helmets will be capped with a SAFR Helmet Covers, which is scientifically proven to reduce the risk of concussion by as much as 77%.
According to Head Football Coach Thomas Hammock, “For us, player safety is first and foremost in our thought process. We’ve had multiple conversations with our medical staff and athletic trainers to figure out the best way to protect our players from concussions. While wearing SAFR Helmet Covers, I’m very pleased to see that when we’ve had some tremendous collisions on the field, our guys get right up and go back to the huddle. I’m glad our medical staff could accommodate our team and keep our players healthy.”
Added Heath Duncan, NIU’s Senior Associate Athletic Trainer, “Once we saw the SAFR Sports research and data they obtained from their study with Virginia Tech’s helmet lab, we knew we needed to get this product for our football players. This process has been a true collaboration with the coaches, athletic trainers, strength staff, and our operations team, and it says a lot about the culture at NIU and wanting the best for our student athletes.”
Recent data from a three-year independent study at a major university in Pennsylvania showed the effectiveness of wearing SAFR Helmet Covers, and the results have been published in scientific journals, including the Journal of Concussion.
This testing was validated in December at Virginia Tech’s Helmet Lab, where researchers concluded that adding a SAFR Helmet Cover to 5-Star helmets showed a significant reduction in concussion risk. “At SAFR, we are continually pursuing new ways to improve sports safety through science, and we credit Northern Illinois University for taking this important step to protect their student athletes,” said SAFR Sports CEO John Zeglinski.
About SAFR Sports
SAFR Sports is staffed by former football players and professionals, all who share the singular mission of making football and all contact sports safer through science. SAFR Helmet Covers, worn by nearly 300 college teams, high schools, and youth football leagues, has been proven to reduce impact accelerations that reduce the adverse effects of repeated sub-concussive blows. Other important advantages of the SAFR Helmet Cover include being permitted for game-play by the National Federation of High Schools. In addition, the SAFR Helmet Cover is custom-manufactured to model and size, and will match the color and finish of existing helmets.
