Today’s health and safety news revolving around football:

Q: What is done at each school football-wise as far as trying to prevent concussions? A: In 2010, the NCAA mandated that each school had to have a concussion management plan on file. As a conference, our sports medicine committee — which is made up of our team physicians and head athletic trainers for football and Olympic sports — put together a foundation for Big Ten concussion management plan that was intended to provide a baseline for all of our institutions that said at a minimum: Here is what you should have included in your plan. But the schools have the autonomy to add and implement anything further that they think fits their institution. Along with that piece was a companion educational piece where each of our institutions are expected to educate their student-athletes, coaches and support staffs of each sport to what this issue is, what can occur if a head injury or concussion occurs during the course of play and how to manage that from a return to play and return to study academics standpoint.

Benedict’s idea was born from two occurrences. He saw a couple of his teammates sustain concussions on the field, and he learned about the young scientist challenge while attending St. John Fisher School in Rancho Palos Verdes. He made a connection. The idea, he said, “was in my mind. I saw this contest, the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, and they had some topic starters: What can keep us healthy? What can make a difference in the world? That’s when I pieced it together and thought, wait a minute, this is a problem, concussions in sports and recognizing (them), and I saw that maybe this was something I could help try to solve — or at least make a difference.”

* The Associated Press reported that the ex-players replied to the NFL’s motion that their concussion lawsuit against the league be dismissed.

* A column in the Daily Wildcat, the University of Arizona student newspaper, cited the Matt Scott head injury as an example of football’s careless culture in terms of injuries.

* A series of concussions have ended the football career of Southern Mississippi tight end Collin Jarbo, according to the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American.

* WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg began a multipart series looking at concussions in its area.

* The Central Illinois Proud continued its concussion series, examining the latest technologies in helmets.

* KOVR-TV in Sacramento reported on the “Play It Safe Concussion Care Solution” program in Northern California.

– Bill Bradley, contributing editor