Conferences join to raise awareness of mental health issues

The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 launched an initiative Monday to raise awareness of the importance of mental health as part of their conference alliance announced this year.

Teammates for Mental Health will be unveiled this week during basketball games involving the three conferences, including the ACC/BIG Ten women’s and men’s challenges.

The centerpiece will be a public service announcement that will air throughout the 28 games being played through Thursday. The PSA includes men’s coaches Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State), Maryland women’s coach Brenda Frese and others, and it will air on ESPN, the ACC Network, the Big Ten network and the Pac-12 Network.

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac12 announced in the summer the conferences were forming an alliance to work together on scheduling, plus off-field issues like the future of NCAA governance and athlete welfare.

“When the Alliance was formed back in August, you know, people paid a lot of attention to the schedule pieces. And Kevin and I and George have been emphatic that that is a component of it, but you also have major issues from an NCAA standpoint and the future college athletics,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “But at the core of it for us is really the student athlete experience.”

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff said athletic directors and other administrators and school officials have been meeting regularly over the last four months. The Teammates for Mental Health campaign is the first public collaboration to come from the three conferences.