Fall season college athletics teams are in the process of preparing for their upcoming seasons in the sweltering August heat. The blistering climate can present a dangerous challenge when mixed with preseason conditioning and strenuous practices.

Last week, three Miami football student-athletes had to leave practice early over a two-day stretch from apparent dehydration issues related to the heat and humidity. It sounds like the most serious of the three occurred with defensive tackle Antonio Dixon, who was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. While these situations at Miami were publically disclosed, there are unquestionably countless other student-athletes who suffer from similar problems around the country during this time of year.

If you have ever been to the southern part of the country during the heart of summer, you have an idea of the conditions that these student-athletes are going through. Realizing the potential hazard, many teams move their practice times so that they aren't playing during the hottest parts of the day (in fairness to Miami, we do not have the details about when the team was practicing on these days). For instance, during two-a-days, a team might have early morning and late afternoon/early evening practices. However, these precautions don't ignore the fact that in many climates around the country, the heat and humidity are sometimes intolerable regardless of the time of the day.

What can teams do in these circumstances? If you don't have an indoor practice facility, you have to brave the elements and practice outside. And it is the responsibility of the coaching staffs to get their student-athletes prepared to play the season, which means tough conditioning drills in many sports. If the student-athletes aren't in shape for the season, ultimately the coaching staff will be blamed. This creates a difficult balancing act for coaches.

What do you think of these situations? Where do you think schools should draw the line between student-athletes getting in playing shape and taking part in unsafe practice conditions?