Tag: Kevin Warren

Notre Dame and Big Ten join forces to battle Mental Health

The Big Ten along with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins has formed a Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet to assist student-athletes.

It has been quite a ride for Kevin Warren, the new commissioner of the Big Ten, since taking over full time for the retired Jim Delaney at the beginning of the year. Warren could not have expected to be battling a global pandemic, but that has not stopped the conference from moving forward and putting the student-athletes at the forefront of their minds.

Yesterday, the Big Ten along with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, announced a partnership in the battle against the mental health and wellness of their athletic student body. There will be 2 representatives from each school that will form a Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet to assist the student-athletes with anything they may need.

In addition to the added focus on their mental well-being, student-athletes, coaches, full time members of athletic departments and conference staff members will be given free access to the Calm app.

It has been a recent development for athletes to come out and speak about their mental health issues. These issues could affect anyone and by joining forces with the Big Ten and Johns Hopkins it is a move in the right direction. Having extra support for student-athletes is a huge step forward, just because they are in the limelight doesn’t mean they don’t go through tough times.

It seems very fitting for all parties to announce these plans now, as May is Mental Health Month.  This gesture by the 16 schools involved is a step forward in battling mental health issues on college campuses.

Big Ten Conference announces mental health initiatives

The Big Ten announced the formation of a mental health conference and other initiatives surrounding the mental health of its members.

This is a long time coming, and we give a tip of the cap to the Big Ten on this. In case you didn’t know, the month of May is mental health month.

On that note, Monday, the conference announced the formation of a mental health cabinet to assist its members and their student-athletes. It compromises all fourteen Big Ten institutions as well as sport affiliate members John Hopkins and Notre Dame.

As part of the initiative, all Big Ten student-athletes, coaches, full-time members of university athletic departments and conference staff members will receive free, unlimited access to Calm, the No. 1 mental fitness app for helping individuals experience lower stress, less anxiety, improved focus and more restful sleep — something we could all use these days.

“When I was hired as the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, a core pillar of my vision was to make sure that we educate, embrace, engage and empower our more than 9,500 student-athletes. This is a complex and stressful time in our society and the mental health and wellness of our Big Ten family is a critical component of our focus,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren in the release. “The Cabinet will be instrumental for us both short and long term, as we pursue our goal of creating and maintaining the most comprehensive mental health and wellness platform in college athletics.”

“Our hope is that the Calm mental fitness app will provide an immediate resource for all Big Ten student-athletes, coaches, athletic department staff members and conference staff during these unprecedented times and is only the first of many steps that we will take in the area of mental health and wellness. We are fortunate to have so many professionals on our campuses who have dedicated their lives to tackling mental health issues. We were driven to supplement their inspiring work with additional resources, important under normal circumstances, but even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Count head football coach Ryan Day as a big proponent of these moves by the conference. He started his own foundation to assist juveniles with mental health, and it’s been something that he has championed since his arrival.

“I think the work the Big Ten Conference is doing with regard to mental health initiatives is incredibly important,” Day said. “Forming a Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet is a reflection of the conference’s leadership, engagement and support for mental health initiatives. These efforts will help bring much-needed attention and awareness to the subject of mental health.”

Here is the complete membership and school affiliations for the cabinet:

The membership of the Big Ten Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet can be found below by visiting the Big Ten’s website.

WATCH: Kevin Warren comments on cancellation of men’s Big Ten Tournament

The Big Ten has canceled the remainder of the men’s basketball tournament. Hear and watch what Kevin Warren had to say about it all.

It an unprecedented move, The Big Ten has canceled the remainder of the men’s Big Ten Tournament. The announcement comes one day after the first round of games kicked off and concluded. It all relates and surrounds to the pandemic the world is dealing with in the wake of the new novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Commissioner Kevin Warren took time to speak to the Big Ten Network to answer questions and provide comments on how he and the conference arrived at this decision.

Watch the below as he touches on how difficult of a decision it was, the process he went through to come to the determination, and how it’s all about doing the right thing.

All power five conferences have followed suit, and now we wait to see if the NCAA Tournament will go on as planned. Yesterday, the NCAA sent out a statement with plans to continue the tournament but with extremely limited attendance.

After the moves of today though, you have to wonder if even having the tournament is also in jeopardy. As we hear anything, we’ll pass it along here at Buckeyes Wire.

 

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