The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, in partnership with the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the NCAA Sport Science Institute, is taking part in the NCAA Mental Health Social Media Campaign from Monday, May 3 through Friday, May 7.
Please click here for materials and resources related to the mental health and wellness of college athletes.
The AMCC would like to highlight the outstanding work that is being done on our member institutions' campuses in regards to mental health awareness and programs that are being offered to student-athletes to break the stigma and find student-athletes the help they may need.
AMCC
The AMCC hosted a Mental Health Matters virtual 5K in October. The race was open to all AMCC student-athletes, coaches, and staff members and participants could choose to walk or run. Over 500 people registered for the event where everyone was encouraged to take a break for self care.
Alfred State College
- On Oct 28 & 29 Lauren DeCredico presented to the student-athletes a “Mental Health Workshop.” DeCredico was a Division III student-athlete and her company is called Wicked Psyched.
- Mental Health Mondays - The Alfred State SAAC took on the challenge to put out social media posts about mental health every week.
- The ASC SAAC created a subcommittee to help program and support mental health. They pushed on-campus programming out to student-athletes and helped sponsor a SAAC fun day where the committee did a service project and played games outside at the stadium.
- During the NCAA Mental Health Awareness Week, the SAAC committee will be sponsoring a de-stress event while students study for finals. It is their last week of school, so SAAC will be offering a coloring activity in the Student Leadership Center and will provide anyone that comes with snacks.
Hilbert College
The Hilbert SAAC hosted a zoom webinar focused on mental health in early February. The webinar was open to the entire campus where 80-100 attended. Topics included Understanding the Importance of Mental Health, Exploring Ways to Improve Mental Health, Who to Ask for Help and How to Get it, and a Q&A with Dr. Chris Siuta, Director of the Hilbert College Counseling Center, at the conclusion of the webinar.
La Roche University
- La Roche University makes promise to expand mental health services on Thursday, March 4th 2021. “The University will partner with the JED Foundation, a nationally recognized nonprofit, to improve campus mental health resources. The four-year partnership will focus on enhancing and expanding mental health services to the whole campus community. The University also plans to connect students with a local psychiatrist on campus at no cost.”
LRU Press Release: https://www.laroche.edu/Templates/NewsDetail.aspx?id=17179870566
- The school had a “Take a Break for Mental Health” day on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Classes were cancelled for the day so students, faculty and staff could take their minds off of school and work.
- On Saturday April 17, the LRU counseling and health services department held their first annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) “Out of the Darkness” Campus Walk at La Roche.
LRU Press Release: https://www.laroche.edu/
Penn State Behrend
A representative from the campus counseling center is available to meet with student-athletes via zoom for any counseling services that are requested.
Pitt-Bradford
- Pitt-Bradford has a Student-Athlete Mental Health Awareness Committee (SAMHAC) that meets once a week to discuss mental health topics, fight the stigma, discuss ways to increase awareness towards mental health struggles, and host guest speakers. Each meeting, a club member or guest speaker presents on a mental health condition or topic. This academic year, they have discussed: resiliency, seasonal affective disorder, emotional intelligence, balance, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, triggers, and many other topics. This club is led by student athletes with head athletic trainer, Heidi Lucke, as the advisor.