“This is a failure of the strength and conditioning program — an epic failure,” said Douglas J. Casa, chief executive of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut. “Somebody made a dramatic mistake in terms of how the workout was organized in terms of intensity, volume, recovery. Something was dramatically wrong.”

Twelve members of the Tufts University men's lacrosse team were diagnosed with a medical condition related to extreme exertion, and five were hospitalized.