Washington State University quarterback Tyler Hilinski committed suicide on Jan. 16. His reason remains unknown, but many believe it was related to depression, leading to much discussion about the mental health of student-athletes.
Multiple universities have launched projects to help student-athletes deal with their responsibilities and mental health. Oregon State University is starting a program called #DamWorthIt in hopes of bringing awareness to student-athlete mental health issues.
Michael Duke, a social anthropology professor at the University of Memphis, specializes in mental health and said there are multiple reasons why student-athletes face mental health issues.
Duke said there are many reasons for student-athlete depression.
“Being in an environment of hyper-competitiveness where the only outcome is a winner and a loser, and the time and economic pressure of working full-time as an athlete without compensation, while still carrying a full course load weighs heavily on student-athletes,” Duke said.
Student-athletes have to practice during the week in addition to attending classes. Average weekly practice hours for all student-athletes amount to 39 hours, according to the NCAA.
Mental health issues among student-athletes have escalated so much in the past four years, the NCAA has started to gather more data about it. They found there were 35 student-athlete suicides from 2009 to 2015.
The NCAA reported two-thirds of Division I and II athletes claimed they spend just as much time or more during the off-season practicing and training than they do during the season. The NCAA also reported 75 percent of football, baseball and track and field athletes claim they spend as much time on their sport in the off-season.
Aaron Persinger, president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and member of the U of M track and field, said there are many factors that play into the amount of time spent practicing during the season and off-season.
“I think it depends on the sport because some spend about the same amount of time and don’t have a true off-season,” Persinger said. “It also depends on the coach because some coaches make their athletes take time off.”
Persinger said he sees the benefits of training in the off-season.”
“While I don’t think you should spend as much time [practicing] as you do during the season, due to the benefits of long training hours, I can see why coaches want athletes there,” Persinger said.
Maddy Uenking, a women’s defensive midfielder at the U of M, said there multiple ways an athlete can reduce stress to prevent depression.
“I recommend student-athletes to handle their heavy workloads by managing their time well,” Uenking said. “Especially when traveling, use your down time to study and focus on your academics instead of taking naps or just watching Netflix.”
Makennon Doran, a rifle team member, said student-athletes often make wrong choices, which leads to depression.
“A lot of times, a student-athlete will find once they get to a serious program in college that it is not what they pictured or that they signed with the wrong program,” Doran said. “Then they will get down and not want to be there anymore.”
