Inaugural BetterTo9ether Games Set to Begin
BOSTON – The BetterTo9ether games, the signature program of America East’s new mental health awareness initiative, BetterTo9ether, begin this week and will continue throughout May across all nine conference campuses.
The Games will pit student-athletes of all class years, genders and sports against each other in activities that will promote a fun, positive and inclusive environment. Select games will focus specifically on educating student-athletes about mental health, teaching mindful and gratitude practices and reinforcing where and how to access resources available on their campuses. The conference has provided each member institution’s SAAC with a $500 grant to be put towards the event.
“UMBC established an event last spring that championed teamwork and trust in regard to mental health and that will serve as the model for the BetterTo9ether games,” said Stony Brook senior and America East SAAC Vice President, Darian Sorouri. “Using that as a foundation, together we will the strengthen the bonds already present on each of our institution’s campus and work towards destigmatizing the act of getting mental health help.”
2019 BetterTo9ether Games
| Institution |
Date |
| UAlbany |
Sunday, April 7 |
| Binghamton |
Wednesday, April 10 |
| Hartford |
Monday, April 22 |
| Maine |
Tuesday, April 2 |
| UMass Lowell |
Sunday, April 28 |
| UMBC |
Wednesday, May 15 |
| New Hampshire |
Sunday, April 14 |
| Stony Brook |
Sunday, April 7 |
| Vermont |
Monday, April 29 |
America East has proven to a be a leader in emphasizing mental health, wellness and safety since establishing its Health & Safety Summit in 2016. The fourth annual summit will take place in late May at UMass Lowell with a portion of the program focusing specifically on mental health.
In December, America East and its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) took the next step towards destigmatizing mental health through the establishment of its #BetterTo9ether campaign. The initiative focuses on creating more mentally healthy environments for student-athletes across all nine America East campuses through education, outreach, events and more.
The America East Board of Presidents furthered that commitment in February as the conference became the first non-autonomy conference to adopt a proposal mandating each member institution make mental health services and resources available to its student-athletes through the department of athletics and/or the institution's health services or counseling services department.
#BetterTo9ether and Health & Safety are two of the many America East programs under the conference’s #3Pillars “leadership” umbrella aimed at making a difference for conference stakeholders, on league campuses and within their communities. Other initiatives include #SpreadRespect, the America East Alumni Network and the #3Pillars Academy, which focuses on providing professional development opportunities to America East constituents through its digital series and in-person programming.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
– #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete –