Big 12 Conference Partners with VICIS to Strengthen Commitment to Player Safety

Teams to Outfit Student-Athletes in Top-Ranked VICIS ZERO1 Helmets

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Jul 17, 2018, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Big 12 Conference and VICIS today announced a partnership to further educate football players on the latest safety advancements in sports equipment while providing access to top-ranked football helmets for all Big 12 teams. The conference-wide partnership with VICIS ensures ZERO1 helmets are available to players on each team.

The most technologically advanced helmet available, the ZERO1 is designed to reduce impact forces with a highly engineered structure that differs from traditional football helmets. The ZERO1 has a deformable outer shell and a unique columnar layer designed to slow impact forces like a car bumper.

In the 2018 VIRGINIA TECH® HELMET RATINGS^™, which rates helmets based on the impact frequency and severity observed in high school and collegiate play, the ZERO1 rated #1 and was awarded the highest available "5 STAR" rating.

The ZERO1 also ranked first in the NFL / NFLPA's 2018 Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance, earning the top spot for the second year in a row. This year's testing led the NFL to ban 10 different helmet models during the upcoming season due to poor performance, a decision that played a role in the Big 12's move to partner with VICIS and equip more of its athletes in the ZERO1.

"The Big 12 Conference has been at the forefront of addressing matters related to player safety at the collegiate level," said Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. "We led the charge to mandate the unchallengeable authority of medical practitioners and the implementation of limits on in-season full-contact practices. The partnership with VICIS is a natural extension of the commitment of our member institutions to player safety."

In addition to making the ZERO1 available to student-athletes conference-wide, the partnership aims to promote greater player safety by encouraging player and staff meetings to educate student-athletes on protective equipment and other safety-related considerations.

"Our team is thrilled to partner with Commissioner Bowlsby and the Big 12 Conference to promote player safety and education," said Dave Marver, VICIS CEO and co-founder. "We applaud the Big 12 on the leadership it has shown to protect and educate its student-athletes."

ABOUT VICIS
VICIS is a Seattle-based company focused on sports protective technologies. Its inaugural product, the ZERO1 football helmet, launched in 2017 and ranked first in 2017 and 2018 NFL/NFLPA Helmet Performance testing, first in the 2018 Virginia Tech STAR Helmet Ratings, and was named one of TIME Magazine's 25 Best Inventions of 2017. VICIS was also named one of Fast Company's 2018 Most Innovative Companies. The company is funded and/or advised by several current and former NFL players, including Roger Staubach, Jerry Rice, Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, and Alex Smith. For more information, visit www.vicis.com/.

About Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is comprised of 10 Universities - Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12 is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics conference that encompasses five states with over 38 million people within its geographic footprint. In its 22nd year, the Conference has produced over 600 Academic All-America selections and claimed national championship team titles in 17 of its 23 sponsored sports. Its student-athletes and teams have combined for 650 individual NCAA titles and 59 team national championships. Nearly 5,000 student-athletes from across the United States and around the World compete annually under the Big 12 banner. For more information, visit Big12Sports.com and follow the Conference on Facebook (Facebook.com/Big12) and Twitter (@Big12Conference).