The Mental Health Best Practices provide Association-wide guidance and recommendations for schools to support student-athlete mental health. The Mental Health Best Practices are not intended as a substitute for the independent clinical and/or medical judgment and care provided by health care professionals to individual student-athletes.

The Mental Health Best Practices were developed by the Committee for Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, as informed by expert- and consensus-based recommendations from its Mental Health Advisory Group. The Mental Health Advisory Group consists of over 30 representatives from scientific, medical, sports medicine organizations and all divisions of the NCAA membership.

The Mental Health Best Practices is an inter-association consensus document that was first published in 2016 (updated in 2017 and 2020) following the convening of the NCAA Mental Health Task Force. After the 2020 Diverse Student-Athlete Mental Health and Well-Being Summit, the Committee for Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports determined the need to further update the Mental Health Best Practices. To accomplish this, the Committee for Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports created the Mental Health Advisory Group in 2021.

The four best practices remain substantively the same. However, the document has been restructured to emphasize that establishing an environment that promotes mental health is a foundational step to supporting student-athlete mental health and well-being. The restructuring also reflects the way the care system often applies on campus. The document now contains: 

1. Foundational Principles: Foundational principles provide further education on risk and protective factors related to student-athlete mental health and a lens through which each best practice can be operationalized by member schools. The foundational principles consider the role of coaches and other stakeholders, the impact of maltreatment/discrimination/trauma, social media, the importance of collaboration and the importance of continuous improvement processes.
2. Best Practices (core components and additional elements): As with the first edition, the updated document contains four best practices. Each best practice contains “core components” that should be incorporated into each school’s approach to supporting student-athlete mental health and well-being, as well as “additional elements to consider” that may also be of benefit for school to consider in their approach.
3. Checklist. An updated checklist that clearly identifies each best practice, core component and additional element for consideration. 
4. Resources. Resources with supplemental information and implementation strategies for the Mental Health Best Practices are available on a webpage, so the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports can regularly consider new resources and update as appropriate.

Association-wide legislation requires all schools to provide mental health services and resources consistent with the Mental Health Best Practices.

As schools vary in size, geographic location and local resources, member schools have flexibility to determine how each best practice may be best implemented on their campus. The Mental Health Best Practices includes a checklist which clearly identifies the core components of each best practices. The core components of each best practice have been identified by the NCAA Committee for Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports as the most necessary to providing services and resources consistent the Mental Health Best Practices. In addition to the core components, the Mental Health Best Practices include foundational principles that provide important contextual considerations for all of the best practices. Additional elements of consideration are also noted in each best practice and provide additional options to be considered by each school.

The following resources are available: 

1. Mental Health Best Practices Checklist: The Mental Health Best Practices include a checklist that identifies each best practice, core component and additional element for consideration.
2. Mental Health Best Practices Resources: A webpage that includes resources, supplemental information and potential strategies to assist schools in implementing the Mental Health Best Practices. The list of resources is intended to evolve over time, as the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports will regularly consider review and update as appropriate.
3. Additional Resources: The NCAA Sport Science Institute mental health website contains additional educational materials, including mental health fact sheets, videos, learning modules and more. 

Additionally, a variety of educational opportunities specific to the second edition will be made available to the membership, which may include additional SSI Spotlight sessions, learning modules and other materials. Specific questions can be submitted to ssi@ncaa.org. 

The Mental Health Best Practices are effective August 1, 2024. The first edition of the Mental Health Best Practices remains effective until then.