It's a great time to be failing drug tests in America. Our biggest sports stars are going down left and right and not really being held accountable for their actions. Say you're sorry, kiss a baby, problem solved.

With all of these illegal drugs creeping into the professional sports world, it only seems logical that the NCAA follows suit in its efforts to prevent these doping habits from trickling down to the collegiate ranks. And logically, student-athlete enemy number one has become…Vitaminwater?

The NCAA has been busy all week downplaying a slight problem with Vitaminwater, one of its largest sponsors. Due to substance restrictions, the NCAA is essentially endorsed by a product with five varieties it cannot give out to its athletes.

"It means (universities) can't give them out free of charge," a Glacéau spokesperson said. "But (student-athletes) can go out and purchase them without any problems. For us, what's important is clearing the confusion."

The conflict lies in the "impermissible or banned" content of some flavors of the Glacéau product. Five of the 13 varieties contain ingredients that if consumed in excess, could result in positive drug tests for student-athletes, leading to a suspension or loss of eligibility. However, "normal daily consumption" of Vitaminwater is permissible, the NCAA said in a press release.

It's a relief to report that 50-Cent's flavor, Formula 50, is perfectly fine to drink by NCAA guidelines. Dodged a bullet there.

"I used to drink Vitaminwater all the time in high school," said Ciara Jones, a freshman on the women's volleyball team. "I would be really upset (about losing eligibility) because I hadn't even heard about it."

Three kinds of Vitaminwater, including Jones' favorite flavor, Power-c, have ingredients that categorize them under "extra benefit" rules. The other two varieties are B-relaxed, and Balance. The flavors contain substances like taurine, an energy booster, and glucosamine, which can help heal joints.

The other two, Energy and Rescue, contain caffeine and/or guarana extract, which are included in the NCAA's drug-testing list of banned substances. They aren't completely banned, but there is a limit on the amount you can have.

"There have been student-athletes who have lost eligibility consuming high levels of caffeine close to a drug test," said NCAA Associate Director of Public and Media Relations Gail Dent via email. "There have been no cases of student-athletes losing eligibility due to Vitaminwater consumption."

Vitaminwater and its parent company, Coca-Cola, have beverage deals with hundreds of universities. For those campuses with Vitaminwater around every turn, there could be potential problems. Luckily, Marquette isn't one of them.

"We're strictly Gatorade," said Marquette Assistant Athletic Director Scott Kuykendall. "We don't provide Vitaminwater to our student-athletes."

So Marquette student-athletes should be pretty safe. And even if one of them got really thirsty and had a Vitaminwater-chugging contest with a friend, they would have to take down 10 20 oz. bottles to earn a positive test. I'd be more concerned about water poisoning at that juncture.

"I probably could drink that much, but I wouldn't like to," said senior track and field thrower Jessica Ehlen. "It's basically like Kool-aid with vitamins and a bunch of sugar."

The official motto of Glacéau is "hydrate responsibly." I guess they didn't know how right they were about that one. But the next time you make a stop at Kampus Foods or Open Pantry, go ahead, show no fear in your beverage selection. Just keep it at normal daily consumption levels for your own safety.

One more thing. Don't go handing Jerel McNeal any free bottles of Power-c, or he won't be able to play in the Big East tournament.