Saturday will be the University of Richmond’s first practice in full pads.
  That follows two days practicing in helmets and shorts and three days of practicing in helmets and shoulder pads. This is the NCAA-mandated acclimation period, instituted for health and fitness reasons.
    Each Spiders is weighed before and after practice by a training-staff member. If the player’s weight slips three percent or more in one practice - a 200-pounder couldn’t lose more than six pounds, for instance - that player is viewed at-risk. He may be held out of the next practice if he cannot reacquire that weight by drinking at least 24 ounces of iced fluid to compensate for each pound lost.
                                                            - John O’Connor

Weight loss a concern in heat