After runner's suicide, University of Wisconsin Athletics increased mental health resources

The pressure on student athletes keeps mounting. For one UW-Madison runner, it was too much

Since Shulze's death in April 2022, the UW athletic department has increased the number of in-house counselors for its 700 student-athletes and rolled out new trainings.

From July 2023 to July 2024, about 200 student-athletes, or 28%, received mental health support. The numbers are encouraging to David Lacocque, the UW Athletics mental health director.

"The prevailing way of looking at it is that the more student-athletes we see, the more indication is that we've reduced stigma (and) that we reduced barriers," he said. "We want bigger numbers."

Here's an overview of what the department has done to improve access to mental health:

Coaches and others sign up for mental health first aid training

Often compared to CPR training, UW Athletics rolled out mental health first aid training in November 2023. The eight-hour training teaches people how to identify and respond to an athlete in crisis.

Intentionally voluntary, about 100 UW Athletics employees have completed the training, including 32 coaches, Lacocque said.

"From a culture-building perspective, we believe that that (voluntary) approach this year has had added benefit versus a check-the-box kind of a thing," he said.

More UW Athletics counselors on staff

When Shulze attended UW-Madison between 2019 and 2022, there was the full-time equivalent of two in-house mental health providers for 700 student athletes. That's a 1-to-350 counselor-to-athlete ratio, which doesn't account for contracts UW Athletics has with community providers.

Campuswide ratios are much higher. Across the UW System, the counselor-to-student ratio ranged from a low of 1-to-838 at UW-Stout to 1-to-1,125 at UW-Madison to a high of 1-to-2,687 at UW-Parkside.

The American College Health Association and the International Association for Counseling Services recommend student counseling centers have a ratio of one provider for every 1,000 to 1,500 students.

Within UW Athletics, a hiring spree after Shulze's suicide brought the full-time equivalent of in-house mental health providers to 3.75, improving the ratio to 1-to-200. That's slightly better than the Big Ten average of 1-to-224.

"At our current staffing, we believe we have a setup where student athletes can be seen ... within a fast and reasonable time frame," Lacocque said. "Where we’re at is less about adding mental health professionals. Where we're at more is the culture we're trying to build."

Liasions check in regularly with teams

Key to culture-building within the athletic department is a mental health liasion program that began in fall 2022.

Liasions are assigned to regularly check in on three to four teams. They attend practices, meetings and sometimes even travel for competition. They lead wellness workshops, make referrals, provide counseling, resolve athlete-coach conflicts and bring major problems to Lacocque's attention.

Having a consistent presence in the locker room builds familiarity. Sending a text to an athlete who had a hard practice shows them someone cares.

"The role of our liaisons and spending time in the spaces — it has a few different objectives, but very clearly, the top objective is to increase access and reduce stigma," he said. "It's a very, very significant mechanism or strategy for getting people over that small hump to come and see us."

Mental health screenings, both mandatory and voluntary

New athletes are required to undergo a mental health screening when they arrive on campus.

Beginning in fall 2023, athletes also have the option to participate in mid-semester mental health screenings. The team's liaison presents the option to athletes.

"We get in front of them, and it's a chance to briefly remind them of who we are in our services, and frankly, to have friendly contacts and answer their questions," Lacocque said.

About 50% of athletes participate in the mid-semester screening, he said.

Are the UW-Madison athletic department efforts working?

Are the efforts working? In short, yes, Lacocque said.

About 200 athletes received direct mental health support in 2023-24, according to UW Athletics data. In just the first half of this year, the department has seen nearly 200 athletes.

Liasions have played a role in reducing stigma. The football team has seen a fourfold increase in mental health service utilization since Jermaine Bean became the team liasion in 2022, Lacocque said.

"We've gone from a system in which we were an imperfect but an effective system for treatment delivery now toward one that has that, but really is putting that emphasis on the broader culture," he said.