Student-Athlete Information

Please read the following information in its entirety, as it contains information that affects your eligibility to participate in athletics.

Physicals and Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics, you must have a current comprehensive medical exam that states you are cleared for sports activities. Upload this to your Patient Portal. 

Per NCAA policy, all athletes beginning their initial season of eligibility must have a medical examination signed by an MD/NP/PA that clears them medically for athletic participation. This examination must be within six months of the beginning of any practice, competition, or out-of-season conditioning activity.

For detailed information on the NCAA requirements for an acceptable sports clearance/physical, please refer to Pre-Participation Physical Examination for Athletes.

Health Insurance for Athletes

Primary Health Insurance

In addition to pre-participation physicals, you will be required to carry your own (or parental) health insurance. Without such primary coverage, you will be unable to participate. It is Fisher's policy that all students have insurance coverage. Your insurance information and images of the front and back of your insurance card need to be uploaded to the Patient Portal. Please check whether your insurance is in-network or out-of-network in Rochester and whether it will provide coverage for athletic injuries (e.g. doctor's visits, x-rays, MRIs).

Voluntary Student Athlete Accident Insurance

You have the option to purchase voluntary athletic accident insurance. You are NOT required to purchase this insurance. This insurance provides benefits for athletic injuries sustained as part of sport participation in intercollegiate or club sports. It will NOT cover injuries sustained in intramurals, pick-up, or captain’s practices.

This insurance provides benefits with no deductible or out-of-pocket expenses up to $5,000. It can be used to offset costs after your primary insurance is used or if you know your primary insurance was out of network or will not cover athletic injuries. Expenses beyond $5,000 will then transfer to our Sports Injury Plan. The athletic injury needs to be reported to an Athletic Trainer so we can file a claim.

You should consider purchasing this insurance if you are an International Athlete, have an insurance that may not be accepted in the Rochester area, or have an insurance that is not in Network in the Rochester area. This could include any out-of-state athletes or possibly even an athlete who is from New York State. Please check with your insurance to see if they are in network in Rochester and if they will provide medical benefits for athletic injuries. 

Annual rates are based on the risk level of the sport. High-risk sports (including football, rugby, and ice hockey) will pay a higher premium. Golf, tennis, and crew/rowing are low-risk sports. All other sports are medium-risk. Rates for the current year will be determined in late summer. Information will be sent to all athletes and posted on the Sports Medicine web page under the Insurance Claims and Claims Processing tab.

Sports Injury Plan

Fisher carries a Sports Injury Plan for all registered students who are members of one of Fisher's intercollegiate athletic or club teams. This coverage is intended to supplement your primary coverage, as it has a $5,000 deductible and is only for injuries sustained while participating in any supervised in-season practice, conditioning program, contest, or competition for one of the intercollegiate athletic or club teams. You must report your injury to an athletic trainer at the time of the injury to receive benefits. Other than urgent care or emergency room visits when an athletic trainer is not available, if you choose to go to your own physician prior to reporting your athletic injury, you will not be covered. This is an excess policy that will cover costs that your primary insurance does not, such as deductibles, co-pays, or bracing costs once the $5,000 deductible has been met.

If we think you have an injury where you will reach the $5,000 deductible, a member of the athletic training staff will submit an electronic claim on your behalf to our secondary claims provider. A copy of this, with instructions, will be sent to you via secure message in the Patient Portal. Please provide the secondary insurance information to all providers you see so that they can bill the secondary insurance on your behalf after primary insurance has been used. You are responsible for submitting the appropriate Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and itemized bills for any claims that providers do not bill on your behalf so the claim can be paid or reimbursed to you if you paid for that service.

Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program

The NCAA’s Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program covers student-athletes who are catastrophically injured while participating in a covered intercollegiate athletic activity (subject to all policy terms and conditions). The policy has a $90,000 deductible. The Sports Injury Policy provides benefits up to this deductible. This coverage does not qualify as the basic coverage required for participation in athletics at St. John Fisher University. It is supplemental coverage in the event of a catastrophic injury. More information on this program can be found on the NCAA’s website.

Next Steps

You will receive information on what you need to complete to be eligible for athletic participation via an email sent to your Fisher account in early to mid-July. The due date for completion of medical paperwork is August 1.

For more information, contact James M. Grant, MS, ATC, PES, head athletic trainer, at email jgrant@sjf.edu.