David Lacocque News Today

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students. Contrary to conventional wisdom, athletes aren’t immune from the risk factors. Players at Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, and other colleges are learning how to protect their mental health and ask for help after their teammates killed themselves.

In the weeks after Stanford University soccer goalie Katie Meyer, 22, died by suicide last March, her grieving teammates were inseparable even when not training.

Universities have been caught off guard when student-athletes died by suicide. Now, schools are reevaluating the mental health support they provide teammates.

"Gone are the days when we sit in our office and wait for people to knock on the door and talk to us," one university sports psychologist said.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students. Contrary to conventional wisdom, athletes aren’t immune from the risk factors. Players at Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, and other colleges are learning how to protect their mental health and ask for help after their teammates killed themselves.

The University of Wisconsin athletic department has over the past several months significantly bulked up its resources to support athletes struggling with mental health amid the mid-April death by suicide of varsity distance runner Sarah Shulze.