NCAA’s “Change” Campaign: Transforming Student-Athlete Experience

The NCAA recently launched its “Change” campaign, a 30-second video spotlighting significant reforms within the Association. Premiering on Selection Sunday and airing throughout the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, the campaign underscores transformative initiatives aimed at enhancing the student-athlete experience.

Content:

The “Change” campaign shines a light on pivotal reforms underway within the NCAA, aimed at delivering greater benefits to student-athletes. These initiatives include guaranteed scholarships, expanded access to health care, tutoring support, and enhanced mental health services for all Division I schools. Additionally, the NCAA is advancing new bylaws to improve outcomes for student-athletes regarding profiting from their name, image, and likeness.

Effective August 1st, the NCAA mandates increased support for the physical, mental, and academic well-being of Division I student-athletes. It has also adopted new Mental Health Best Practices, addressing critical issues such as sports betting, social media, corruption, suicide, and name, image, and likeness concerns.

Furthermore, starting in August, the NCAA will provide student-athletes across all divisions access to post-eligibility insurance, covering injuries sustained during their college athletics tenure for two years after completion.

Highlighting academic achievements, NCAA student-athletes are graduating at record rates, with teams in this year’s basketball championships boasting a combined four-cohort average Graduation Success Rate of 90%. Women’s teams achieved an impressive 96% average, while men’s teams attained an 84% average.

Continuing its commitment to support student-athletes, the NCAA is developing recommendations to modernize Division I, including subdivision creation for higher-resourced schools and granting more flexibility in educational benefits and NIL agreements.

To safeguard student-athletes against the risks of sports betting, the NCAA has partnered with industry experts to provide education, prevent social media harassment, and monitor competition integrity. The Association’s Draw the Line campaign prioritizes student-athlete education on the impacts of sports betting.

The “Change” campaign will remain in rotation for the next year across broadcast platforms, NCAA championships, and social media channels, reinforcing the NCAA’s dedication to transforming the student-athlete experience.