Ohio State’s medical tent placed behind OSU’s bench during football games. Credit: Kevin Harrish | For The Lantern
The Ohio State football team added a scarlet and gray medical tent to its sideline for the 2016 season to provide more privacy to injured players.
The tent will allow a player to be evaluated away from the public eye, according Alexis Shaw, a spokesperson for the team’s sports medicine physicians.
“There’s no special equipment inside the tent,” Shaw said. “Players are just brought there for a private assessment before determining whether they will be put back on the field or taken out of the game.”
In the past, injured players were assessed on an open medical table in plain view of fans and television cameras. The goal of the tent is to allow for a more isolated and controlled environment while remaining conveniently close to the field.
Along with the added seclusion from onlookers, Ohio State hopes the tent will allow the football program to stay up to date with national trends.
The tent debuted at the Buckeyes’ season opener against Bowling Green
The University of Alabama began using a similar tent during the 2015 season, designed by a group of the school’s mechanical engineering students, according to Kyle Burger of WVTM 13.
Their collapsible model has since been marketed and sold to at least 29 college football teams, as well as the Buffalo Bills, to be used during the 2016 season.
“These sideline tents are relatively new to football stadiums,” said Jerry Emig, a spokesperson for the Ohio State football team. “We do like to stay contemporary and at the forefront with regard to the resources we are able to provide our student-athletes.”
Aside from adding privacy, the medical tent does not change anything about the medical procedure when a player is injured.
“It won’t change the way our medical staff delivers its expert care,” Emig said.
