NEW YORK - The BIG EAST Conference has announced a partnership with The Zone, a mental health platform aimed at supporting student-athletes, as part of the conference’s ongoing commitment to student wellness.
 
Using The Zone’s innovative digital platform, BIG EAST student-athletes will be prompted to share information about their moods and daily regimens while receiving suggestions on how they can maintain and improve their mental health and wellness. Although the use of the platform is voluntary, student-athletes will be encouraged to take advantage of the user-friendly experience and outstanding support The Zone offers.

Using a scaled approach, Marquette and Georgetown will be the first two institutions to introduce the platform to its student-athletes. Other BIG EAST schools will have the opportunity to add The Zone to their campus wellness programs as early as Summer 2023. The Zone delivers a seamless onboarding experience and provides full logistical and technical support to its collegiate partners to drive adoption and enable institutions to focus on what matters most:  their athletes.

The BIG EAST and The Zone first teamed up in June of 2022 to host the conference's fourth annual Student-Athlete Well-Being Forum at the University of Connecticut.  

The Zone was founded by Ivan Tchatchouwo and Erik Poldroo, two former student-athletes whose journeys included mental health challenges. The Zone’s pioneering platform helps colleges and universities foster an environment where athletes feel comfortable acknowledging their struggles and seeking help and guidance from campus professionals to help them thrive in the classroom in their athletic pursuits and in life. 

“Everyone at the BIG EAST is thrilled to be partnering with The Zone to provide our student-athletes with an innovative and accessible mental wellness platform that will complement the support they receive on campus,” said BIG EAST Senior Associate Commissioner of SWA, Governance and Compliance Katie Willett. “Mental wellness is a top priority for the BIG EAST and our member institutions. We look forward to seeing the impact our partnership with The Zone will have on the student-athlete experience.”

“We’re extremely excited to be working with the BIG EAST Conference and its member schools,” Tchatchouwo said of the partnership. “Since meeting the staff and athletes in June at the BIG EAST student-athlete mental health summit, it was very apparent to us that they cared and wanted to really build safer environments for their student-athletes. We are happy to start this journey by giving student-athletes mental wellness access in their pockets to tackle struggles they face on a daily basis or help keep them in a good mental space.”