2025 Big Sky Health and Wellness Symposium
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Location: Portland State
Speaker: Kamal Carter, Osei Kweku
Topic: Conversations vs. Confrontation
Big Sky Health and Wellness Symposiums are held in conjunction with the Conference’s annual Spring Meeting. Attendees to the symposium include member Presidents, AD’s, SWA’s, FAR’s, student-athletes, coaches, health professionals, media and the general public. Although there are typically many resources available to those on college campuses, student-athletes experience added stressors given the demands and expectations that are placed on them to perform in the classroom, on the field, and in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, the Conference holds the symposium with the benefit of student-athletes at the forefront of the focus. The Big Sky strives to provide to our membership and our student-athletes even more tools to manage health and wellness on campus and within the athletic department.
To accomplish this goal, the Conference presents speakers who provide their knowledge and expertise on a variety of health-related topics. Since the first Health and Wellness Symposium in 2014, the event has become one of the most significant accomplishments the Big Sky has produced. Topics addressed over the years have covered broad areas of health and wellness including meeting the mental health needs of student-athletes, stress management, alcohol and drug issues, sexual assault prevention, and the effects of concussions on student-athlete well-being.
Past Speakers and Hosts
2014 •
The Challenge of Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Student-Athletes, Components of an Effective Program to Address Sexual Assaults, Stress Management and the Student-Athlete, Concussions, Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mindfulness (Hosted By North Dakota)
Speakers: 18 Different Speakers
2015 • "You Can Play Project," "Athletes Connected" (Hosted By Southern Utah)
Speakers: Wade Davis, William Heininger, Barb Hansen, Kally Faye
2016 • Sleep, Health & Performance in Student-Athletes, Chief Medical Officer Update (Hosted By Weber State)
Speakers: Dr. Amy Athey, Dr. Michael Grandner, Dr. Brian Haneline
2017 • Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness (Hosted By Northern Arizona)
Speakers: Brenda Tracy, Ted Bunch and Don McPherson
2018 • Bystander Intervention (Hosted By Sacramento State)
Speakers: Jeff O‘Brien, Brandi Stuart (Huddle Up)
2019 • Anxiety and Depression (Hosted By Montana State)
Speaker: Victoria Garrick
2022 • Youth Leadership/Generation Z Students (Hosted By Northern Colorado
Speaker: Best-Selling Author, Dr. Tim Elmore
2023 • Addressing the Needs of Students During A Campus Crisis (Hosted By Idaho)
Speaker: Seven Different Speakers
2024 • Mental Health and Resilience in Collegiate Sports (Hosted By Weber State)
?Speaker: Captain Melanie Kluesner, Staff Sergeant Thomas R. Bristol