Upcoming Event: Men's Cross Country at Keiser Invitational on September 5, 2025 at 7:30 a.m.
7:30 a.m.
Men's Cross Country
at Keiser Invitational
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Mental Health and Performance
Rates of reported mental health concerns among NCAA student-athletes continue to rise, year after year. With increased attention to the mental health of student-athletes, the NCAA, athletic conferences, and institutions have emphasized the importance of creating environments that promote mental wellness and help-seeking. Recognizing that need, Florida Atlantic University athletics, through a generous gift by The Schmidt Family Foundation, prioritized its student-athletes' needs by hiring a Director of Athlete Mental Health and Performance (AMHP).
In the first year alone, approximately 40% of our student-athletes utilized individual mental health and mental performance services. Additionally, the AMHP facilitated over 40 team sessions/workshops on various topics such as mindfulness, managing pre-performance anxiety, confidence, body image, leadership development, and communication.
A highlight from last fall, was participating in College Football Mental Health Week (CFBMHW) alongside 120+ colleges and universities (hosted by Hilinki’s Hope Foundation). The goal of this week is to destigmatize mental health, provide quality resources, and let student-athletes everywhere know they are not alone. Some of the programming from this week included:
- Collaborating with UNT for a Football Mental Health Game
- Facilitating a staff lunch & lLearn on Trauma-Informed Practices
- Having certified therapy dogs visit us at the Tom Oxley so that our student-athletes (and staff) cvould PAWS to De-Stress
- Provided a mental health awareness presentation for student-athletes to increase dialogue surrounding mental health and decrease the stigma associated with help-seeking
An unanticipated benefit of hiring a Director of AMHP included collaborating with the university's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to mentor a doctoral intern, Dr. Pattric Davis. Dr. Davis has a strong interest and passion for student-athlete mental health and this supervisory relationship allowed student-athletes to receive additional services that they may have otherwise been hesitant to utilize. Dr. Davis is now a sport psychology post-doctoral fellow in the Stanford University Athletics Department.
The fledgling FAU program was also awarded the 2023-24 AAC Consortium Grant for a project titled, “AAC Student-Athlete Mental Health: Development and Implementation of a Standardized Screening Process.” The goal for this project is to develop and implement a standardized mental health screening protocol examining the relationships of athletes’ psychological functioning, their perceptions of who/what facilitates help-seeking, and their intentions to seek mental health care. Our data will inform conference-level educational programming and policies in athlete mental health. Partners in this project include the University of North Texas, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Southern Methodist University, and East Carolina University.
During the first year, our Director of AMHP also had the opportunity to revamp the existing Mental Health Emergency Action Plan and present it to coaches and senior staff. This nitiative that began in Athletics then turned into a campus wide initiative for helping faculty, staff, and students support students in distress. Forthcoming is a university response plan for students in distress and training for FAU staff (e.g., professors, residence hall staff). Training will also be tailored for supporting student-athletes in distress and training will be provided to athlete-facing staff (e.g., coaches, athletic trainers, academic and student development staff).
These initiatives and accomplishments would not have been possible without the gift and establishment of the FAU Athletics Mental Health Fund by the Schmidt Family Foundation.
Gallery: Mental Health Gallery
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Mental Health Gallery
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Mental Health Gallery
Support these initiatives. Either click on the button above or reach out to Michael Graffin at Mgraffin@fau.edu or Alvin Hines at hinesa@fau.edu to learn more.