The NCAA released a five-year report today that shows a sharp decline in the number of college athletes who have tested positive for anabolic steroids. Forty-nine athletes tested positive for steroids in the 2004-5 academic year, compared with 92 athletes five years earlier. A total of 10,094 athletes were tested.

More athletes are using stimulants, however. Fourteen athletes tested positive for stimulants in the NCAA’s postseason drug-testing program in 2004-5, compared with 13 positive results in the previous year. Two students have recently tested positive for cocaine, and another student tested positive for using ephedrine, a stimulant that the NCAA started testing for in 2002, following the death of several athletes who had used it.

Additional summary details are available in the NCAA’s news release about the report.

For background on the issue of performance-enhancing drugs in college sports, see Chronicle articles from March 14, 2003, and July 23, 2004.