BIG EAST, Butler Host Student-Athlete Well-Being Forum
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference and Butler University will host a Student-Athlete Well-Being Forum on June 5-6 in Indianapolis, featuring a diverse group of attendees to include industry leaders, campus counselors, coaches, doctors, athletic trainers, faculty and athletic administrators, NCAA representatives, and the BIG EAST Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
The Forum will focus on the growing issues that affect the overall well being of student-athletes, including stress, sleep, injuries, mental wellness and other health matters. Speakers will detail best practices developed by the NCAA and BIG EAST institutions to ensure that adequate resources are accessible and publicized to student-athletes. The Student-Athlete Well Being Forum was created on the shoulders of the inaugural BIG EAST Mental Health Summit held last year at Georgetown University.
James M. Danko, President of Butler University and the Chair of the BIG EAST Board of Directors, will welcome all of the attendees at a reception held at the NCAA Hall of Champions at the NCAA national headquarters.
“We look forward to building on last year’s Mental Health Summit and continuing to help BIG EAST student-athletes cope with the many pressures they face as they juggle the demands of athletics, academics and daily life,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. “We are especially pleased that representatives from our conference SAAC will be in attendance to share their perspectives and help us understand how our campuses can best serve student-athlete needs.”
The speakers for the Student-Athlete Well Being Forum include Tamika Catchings, a former All-American at the University of Tennessee, WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic Gold Medalist, who has overcome a host of personal struggles during her highly decorated career, including hearing loss, separation from family, high expectations and overcoming debilitating injuries.
NCAA representatives include Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline, who oversees the NCAA Sports Science Institute, a national center whose mission is to promote and develop safety, excellence and wellness in intercollegiate student-athletes.
Butler representatives include Dr. Chris Carr, Sport and Performance Psychologist, who coordinates training, supervision, research and applied practice in the area of sport performance and psychology, and Sharon Clark, head women’s volleyball coach.
Additional speakers include Will Heininger, Outreach Coordinator for Mental Health at the University of Michigan Depression Center; Brad Foltz, Head of Athletics Counseling Services at Georgetown University; Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Director of the African-American Knowledge Optimized for Mindfully-Healthy Adolescents Project and professor at Georgetown University; Suzanne Robinson, Assistant Director of National Education Programs at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); J. Roxanne Prichard, Scientific Director of the Center for College Sleep and Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of St. Thomas; and Lydia Bell, NCAA Associate Director of Research.
Members of the BIG EAST SAAC, which is comprised of two student-athletes from each conference institution, will offer their experiences in dealing with health issues on their campuses and how institutions may be able to assist in achieving overall good health.
The BIG EAST:
The BIG EAST Conference is an association of ten nationally prominent colleges and universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 3,727 student-athletes on over 180 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in seven of the country’s top 36 largest media markets and include Butler University, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University. For more information, visit
www.bigeast.com.