Fire & Life Safety

More than 2,500 student concussions reported in 2014-15 at North Texas schools

Dallas TV station says state athletic officials aren't keeping an accurate count of head injuries in school sports.
Sept. 14, 2015
2 min read

Students suffered more than 2,500 sports-related concussions in 2014-15 in 41 North Texas school districts, NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth reports.

The University Interscholastic League, the organization in Texas that governs school sports doesn't keep a complete count of the head injuries sustained in school athletic activities, so the the reporters from NBC5 gathered the information themselves from 41 school systems.

The League collects only a sample of concussion reports statewide from high school football teams and does not look at any other sports. It reported 295 football concussions from 263 schools.

NBC5 obtained records from multiple sports at 41 districts in and around Dallas-Fort Worth and turned up more than 2,500 concussions, including at the 223 in boy’s high school soccer; 145 in boy’s high school basketball; 183 in girl’s high school soccer; 121 in girls softball; and 62 in cheerleading.

Dr. Hunt Batjer, a neurosurgeon, professor at University of Texas Southwestern, and co-chair of the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee, says he would like to help Texas athletic officials begin collecting data on concussions from all high school sports for both boys and girls.

MORE: A breakdown of concussions reported by districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Video from NBC5:

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy, senior editor, has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.

Sign up for American School & University Newsletters