Weekly Salivary Biomarkers across a Season for Elite Men Collegiate Basketball Players

The purpose of this study was to monitor weekly the salivary free testosterone (FT), cortisol (C), and the FT/C ratio in elite men NCAA Division I basketball athletes across an entire season. Twelve athletes gave salivary samples for 30 consecutive weeks, beginning in the pre-season and ending one week after the end of post-season competition. Samples were assayed for FT and C. Additionally, a composite value (CBD) composed of Z-scores for weekly practice minutes, game minutes, resistance training repetitions, academic demands, and travel schedules was determined. One-way RM ANOVAs were used to determine which weekly values were different (α=.05) from the season mean. For FT, 10 weeks were different from the season average (5.1 nmol/L). For C, 11 weeks were different from the season mean (9.0 nmol/L). For FT/C, weeks 7 (p=.007), 17 (p=.007), and 25 (p=.005) were different from the season mean (FT/C=0.69). During Wk7, at the start of regular season play, FT/C was above, while CBD was below the season means. During Wk17, which was leading into a series of important conference games, FT/C was below, while CBD was not different from season means. During Wk25, which was one week before the conference tournament, FT/C was below, while CBD was above season means. The methods of this study can be used for monitoring athlete responses and adaptations to sport-specific training and competition; specifically, for evaluating responses to challenging pre-season training, recovery for regular season play, and how they physiologically cope with the competitive season.