Colleges too often drop the ball on student-athlete mental health

by Debbie Hogan, The Hechinger Report
December 15, 2025

Student-athletes across the U.S. are now participating in National Signing Day, when some top high school recruits will officially commit to play for an institution in exchange for six- or seven-figure signing bonuses.  

That’s on top of name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts student-athletes can sign that allow them to monetize their personal brands. There’s a lot of money on the table with signing bonuses, NIL contracts and the recent changes in revenue-sharing. But it should not just be about the money.  

Although the money can be life-changing, it raises the stakes of college sports considerably, leaving athletes with increased pressure to perform, even as they work to maintain their academic eligibility.  

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The stress of maximizing financial returns from their athletic abilities while navigating the recent changes in college athletics can harm student-athletes, a population that has experienced increasing mental health issues for decades, with the rates of student-athlete suicides doubling over the last 20 years. 

Despite changes at the NCAA, conference and institutional levels to improve access to, education about and training for mental health services, they remain insufficient to meet the growing needs of Division I athletes. Less than 26 percent of athletic departments have any mental health practitioners on staff, and those that do have only one or two providers — at schools that serve hundreds of athletes.  

That’s not good news for student-athletes facing anxiety after signing the complicated NIL contracts that also limit their control over their personal brands. This is on top of the anxiety, rejection and isolation many athletes experience as they pursue better opportunities through the transfer portal. The portal system was created by the NCAA to make the transfer process easier, but to enter it, athletes must forfeit their scholarships with no guarantee of an offer from another school.  

Even before the recent changes in college sports, student-athletes’ mental health was at greater risk than that of other students. In addition to the stressors of academic life, student-athletes face sport-related factors such as injuries, poor performance, overtraining and maintaining eligibility. 

Academic challenges, such as trying to balance school with sports schedules, are the single greatest issue contributing to negative mental health for student-athletes. 

That’s why athletic departments need better mental health training for coaches. And it’s why families and athletes need to understand how teams address the mental health needs of their athletes. 

I have found in my research that while student-athletes benefit in some ways from the high-profile nature of college athletics — particularly, now, financially — the students are competing at such high levels that their mental health is often overshadowed by the drive to win. 

One former Division I football coach told me: “It’s a transactional business now. You’re not looking out for the kid or the best interest of the kid.”  

Specific student-athlete populations feel higher levels of mental distress but lack the tailored support they need. For instance, Black student-athletes on predominantly white campuses can face unwelcoming environments, race-related stereotypes and microaggressions that lead to isolation and exacerbate mental health issues.  

Yet athletic departments often lack the cultural awareness and diversity among their mental health staff to support these students and earn their trust. One study published in 2020 revealed that almost 80 percent of the mental health staffs in the athletic departments of the schools in the five most competitive Division I conferences were white, even though 36 to 51 percent of the student-athletes in those conferences were not.  

There is also a disconnect between student-athletes and their coaches. Many of the Division I coaches I interviewed wanted to support the well-being of their student-athletes, despite overwhelming pressure to win games, yet did not know how to start the conversations.  

Inadequate resources within their athletic departments left them feeling unprepared when mental health issues arose. Moreover, many coaches have not been adequately trained to recognize symptoms of mental health distress.  

In a recent survey, 9 out of 10 athletic directors acknowledged that their institutions failed to provide sufficient mental health training for coaches. One former women’s basketball coach told me that she had to persistently fight for more resources to prevent mental health crises on her Division I team, including putting sports psychologists on the athletic training room staff. 

The NCAA has begun to address mental health through new guidelines, which recommend that each school develop a mental health plan to promote well-being, conduct annual screenings, prevent crises and ensure that student-athletes receive care from licensed providers. The NCAA also rolled out an online mental health module. Studies have shown that when coaches are exposed to the module, their mental health literacy improves, creating a more positive culture around help-seeking in their programs.  

In addition, the five most competitive athletic conferences adopted a rule in 2019 that guarantees mental health care for athletes, either within athletics or in general counseling services available to all students. It also requires schools to distribute information about available mental health resources. 

Related: STUDENT VOICE: A moment of reckoning for higher ed 

But these changes aren’t enough. Only about half of the student-athletes surveyed in the NCAA’s well-being study said they believed that their institutions and coaches prioritized mental health. And many athletes do not seek help because of a stigma perpetuated by an athletic culture that expects them to be resilient and tough.  

Without a collective bargaining agreement guaranteeing mental health services, athletes, recruits and their families should be more proactive about ensuring they can access resources for emotional support. When they are being recruited, they should ask college coaches about the number of mental health clinicians who work specifically with athletes, and about whether those providers come from an array of racial backgrounds.  

Families should also ask about how often athletes are screened for mental health issues, how coaches are trained in mental health and what they do in the case of a crisis. Families must find out how the availability of mental health resources is communicated to athletes and teams and ask whether the culture around mental health in the athletic department is prioritized, stigmatized or ignored.  

Signing bonuses, NIL contracts and the transfer portal have put athletes in the driver’s seat for the first time. They can decide which school has the most to offer them athletically, academically and financially. But they should also keep mental health top of mind in these conversations.  

Debbie Hogan works and teaches at Boston College. Her research focuses on holistic coaching, student-athlete development and sense of belonging among Black student-athletes. 

Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org. 

This story about student-athletes and mental health was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

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