3 research teams named Innovations in Research and Practice Grant recipients

During the 2024-25 academic year, three research teams will receive a total of $100,000 to conduct projects designed to enhance student-athletes' psychosocial well-being and mental health.

This is the 10th year of the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant Program. The panel that reviewed the proposals was composed of current student-athletes, academics, athletics administrators, an athletic trainer, a coach and a mental health clinician. The reviewers felt confident the funded pilot programs will lead to programs that other schools can adopt for use on their campuses or adapt to fit their own needs. 

"It is encouraging to continue to see such a high level of interest in this grant program," said Eric Laudano, the panel chair and a senior associate athletics director at Saint Joseph's. "This year, over 140 proposals were submitted, and with so many strong projects and compelling collaborations, it was challenging for the panel to identify the finalists and select the three recipients. We are confident that these projects will benefit the student-athletes on the receiving campuses in the coming year. Further, we believe the membership will have much to gain as these grant teams share their findings and make their resources widely available in 2025."

These three teams will make their findings available to the membership during the 2024-25 academic year:

Hofstra

Share, like and subscribe: The impact of social media use on student-athletes' identity and sense of belonging on and off the team.

Rebecca Bertuccio, Ph.D., NCSP, LP (project director); Brittany Rhoden, MSEd, MSc; and Grace Landrigan, MPH.

Kansas

Online resilience: Empowering student-athletes in navigating social media feedback with intervention techniques.

Nataliya Bredikhina, Ph.D. (project director), and Bomin Paek, Ph.D.

Delaware

The locker room files: Developing data-driven digital well-being strategies to mitigate social media effects on mental health, well-being, and team relationships.

Claire Wanzer, M.A. (project director), and Amy Bleakley, Ph.D., MPH.

Of note, the Wanzer and Bleakley project will involve collaboration with three Division I athletics departments (Binghamton University, Delaware and Niagara) and two Division II athletics departments (Daemen and West Chester).

Members of the external review panel that selected the grant recipients:

• Panel chair Eric Laudano, senior associate director of athletics for high performance, Saint Joseph's.
• Ashley Cozad, women's swimming and diving student-athlete, North Florida.
• Margrethe Frøland, women's skiing student-athlete, Saint Michael's.
• Hugo Garcia, men's soccer student-athlete, Wabash.
• John Ritzen, women's golf head coach, Chadron State.
• Jeff Ruser, sport psychology specialist, Notre Dame.
• Ally Smith, associate head athletic trainer/part-time faculty, Otterbein.
• Cheryl Stuntz, professor of psychology, St. Lawrence.
• Patricia Thomas, director of athletics, District of Columbia.
• Khirey Walker, assistant professor of sport management, Elon.