Central College is among NCAA Division III schools across the country recognizing the beginning of Mental Health Awareness month with a social media campaign, #BreakTheStigma.

The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is launching its inaugural mental health social media campaign to increase the awareness of mental health issues by starting a discussion, speaking out on and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health issues. The social media campaign will take place Monday, May 4 through Thursday, May 7. The goal is to provide a platform for student-athletes, administrators, coaches, staff and support networks across the country to dialogue and communicate the benefits of normalizing mental health.
For the past 18 months, the Division III SAAC has been working diligently on a mental health social media campaign. The committee’s intention was always to launch it this spring. With the current global pandemic, everyone is trying to find ways to understand and process our unsettling and stressful circumstances. SAAC believes launching this campaign has become even more important to assist our student-athletes, administrators, staff and coaches.
Student-athletes, administrators, coaches and staff are being asked to create posts highlighting efforts to raise awareness, create dialogue and communicate the benefits of normalizing mental health.

Division III is the NCAA’s largest division, with 446 active members representing 44 conferences. More than 80 percent are private institutions and the schools are diverse, with enrollment ranging from 313 to 25,347. The average Division III School enrolls 2,601 students. Division III stages championships in 37 sports. Central offers 20. More than 190,000 student-athletes compete in Division III, about 39 percent of all those in the NCAA.