Sometimes it’s the question not being asked that has the most influence.

And, in the case of steroid use, the questions are endless.

But there’s one question not being asked that could have the largest impact on the future of the topic: Have steroids come to the college campus?

Here . . .

“I can say with 99-percent confidence that no NIU athlete is on steroids,” said Matt Mangum, NIU head strength and conditioning coach.

Mangum has helped shape NIU athletes’ bodies for more than seven years. In most cases, he knows an athlete’s body better than they do. And while rumors abound, nothing has come forth to contradict Mangum’s statement.

After a month-long Northern Star investigation, there is no substantial evidence that any NIU athletes are taking steroids or other illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

NIU wrestler Mike Grimes has spent more hours in the gym than he can remember.

As a college athlete, his body is his livelihood and he’s been honing it into peak physical shape for years.

That’s why there are no steroids running through the bodies of him or his teammates, Grimes said.

“We take a great deal of pride in the hard work we put in,” Grimes said. “We don’t want to cheat ourselves.”

Football running back Garrett Wolfe and offensive lineman Doug Free echoed the same sentiments.

In the four years each player has been at NIU, neither has ever heard of or come into contact with anyone who has used steroids.

Head Athletic Trainer Phil Voorhis backs up his athletes. In his 15 years at NIU he has never had a single athlete test positive for any illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

But while NIU athletes appear to play by the rules, it’s not the case elsewhere.

. . . and Abroad

An NIU athlete, who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity, watched the needle penetrate the flesh.

There, in front of him in his junior college apartment, his roommate and teammate had his shorts pulled down to expose part of his buttocks. The roommate’s girlfriend was behind him; a syringe full of the steroid Winstrol in her hand. With one smooth motion, the girlfriend pressed on the plunger and emptied the syringe.

The athlete said his roommate was one of two players on the team at the junior college who openly used steroids to enhance their performance on the athletic field.

The steroids were purchased online and often showed up at their door in boxes.

“My roommate made sure to make the packages look as inconspicuous as possible,” the athlete said. “They were usually mis-marked as something very different.”

As far as the athlete knows, both athletes did at least one 12-week cycle and saw vast improvements both in the weight room and on the field.

And neither athlete was ever caught or penalized.

“It was tough to watch it go on,” the athlete said. “I talked to him about it and how it was a dumb idea, but you never really want to rat out a teammate.”

While this story may seem like a rare occurrence, in truth, it’s more real than most think. Three other NIU athletes contacted for this story said they knew athletes at either Division-III schools or in high school who experimented with steroids.

Keeping it clean

So what does NIU do differently than other colleges? In reality, nothing.

Currently, NIU doesn’t have a regular testing policy that would detect the use of steroids.

NIU athletes are randomly tested for recreational drugs, such as marijuana, on a regular basis, Voorhis said.

But when it comes to steroids, athletes are not tested unless there is reasonable suspicion.

The reason behind this? Money.

A quick test for recreational drugs costs NIU’s athletic program less than $10 an athlete. But a steroids test costs the program $150 per test. This means that if Voorhis wanted to test the more than 400 NIU athletes for steroids, the hit to the program would come out to more than $60,000.

Instead of regular testing, Voorhis and NIU host workshops for the athletes which tell of the dangers associated with the illegal drugs.

But just because NIU doesn’t have the funds to test doesn’t mean Huskies aren’t being checked.

The NCAA tests 15 football players and 10 athletes from another random sport at every school each year. But with NIU having more than 400 student athletes, about 6 percent end up being tested.

The NCAA does another round of random tests on a particular team if it makes it into postseason play.

What’s at stake

If an athlete tests positive for steroids during an NCAA test, the athlete is immediately suspended for a year. A second positive and the athlete’s college career is over.

But once the NCAA does its tests for the year the penalties are left up to the school, Voorhis said.

At NIU those penalties are less strict.

The first positive test for an NIU athlete lands them in the office of a counselor. The athlete is monitored for a year also, but the athlete doesn’t lose any playing or practice time.

NIU athletes don’t lose playing time for a positive test until the second offense. Then, athletes miss the equivalent of 25 percent of their season.

A third positive test, and the athlete is done playing for NIU.

But Voorhis and Mangum have never had it come to that. In their years, both have only had concerns about a handful of players.

And while both feel NIU athletes are clean, they are also in agreement that when you take a national look, college sports are tainted.