NCAA funds to be used to add mental health program for athletes, Press Herald reports
The Portland Press Herald reported the University of Maine will use a $640,038 disbursement from the NCAA to add a mental health program to its athletic department. “We want to prioritize mental health care for our student-athletes,” said Lynn Coutts, a senior associate athletic director who is overseeing the implementation of the program. This spring, the NCAA distributed a total of $200 million to nearly 350 Division I schools for the purpose of providing better support to student-athletes. The NCAA stipulated the money has to be used on new programs or to enhance existing programs, according to the article. “They gave us some flexibility,” said Karlton Creech, the athletic director at UMaine. “But we also needed to show some responsibility.” Creech said the funds will allow the department to make improvements it otherwise wouldn’t be able to. “We ask these student-athletes to put a lot of time and effort into academics, sports performance, the physical part,” Coutts said. “It’s time we put a priority on the mental part of it. It’s the healthy body, healthy mind approach.”