NEWARK, Del. - - The 14 member schools of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) will help to conduct a Mental Health Awareness Week at upcoming home basketball doubleheaders from Jan. 30 through Feb. 9, with an aim at breaking the stigma and letting individuals know it is okay to discuss mental struggles they are dealing with.
The Wilmington University men's and women's basketball teams will conduct their Mental Health Awareness Games on Saturday, February 2 when Caldwell University comes to the WU Athletics Complex. The women start the CACC doubleheader at 1:00 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:00 p.m.
The first 50 fans in attendance to the women's game starting at 1:00 p.m. will receive a FREE #wilmYOUmatter t-shirt, the same t-shirt the players will be wearing during warm-ups.
Saturday starts a week long initiative on the Wilmington University campus known at Wellness Week. Each day will concentrate on a different aspect of Mental Health and ways to cope. A full schedule of the Wellness Week on campus can be found here.
All 14 schools will provide various programming and information on a variety of topics dealing with mental health such as breaking the stigma of talking about issues, suicide prevention, stress and anxiety, dealing with depression and making individuals aware of counseling centers on campus and in surrounding communities.
Mental health and breaking the stigma of talking about the various issues has become a point of emphasis with the NCAA, as schools and conferences across all divisions have stepped up to raise awareness. The NCAA provides an extensive section on its website discussing mental health and can be found HERE.
Student-athletes across all three divisions have identified mental health as their number one health and safety priority. Thirty (30) percent of student-athletes self-report that they are consistently overwhelmed. That overwhelming feeling can lead to stress and anxiety that young people try to deal with on their own while going through the day-to-day grind of completing college course work.
The CACC and its member institutions aim to foster an environment where student-athletes look out for the health and wellness of themselves and their teammates.
Communicate. Be Aware. Show Compassion. Be a Champion for each other.
The list of contests that schools will be hosting their Mental Health Awareness Game is as follows:
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30
Caldwell University vs. Post University
Chestnut Hill College vs. Goldey-Beacom College
Concordia College vs. Bloomfield College
Felician University vs. Nyack College
SATURDAY, FEB. 2
Nyack College vs. Goldey-Beacom College
Wilmington University vs. Caldwell University
TUESDAY, FEB. 5
Bloomfield College vs. Felician University
Dominican College vs. Caldwell University
Georgian Court University vs. Chestnut Hill College
Goldey-Beacom College vs. Holy Family University
Post University vs. Nyack College
SATURDAY, FEB. 9
Holy Family University vs. Bloomfield College
Jefferson vs. Dominican College
University of the Sciences vs. Concordia College