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WACO, Texas (KWTX) – From October 1st to October 8th, more than 100 colleges and universities are participating in College Football Mental Health Week, including Baylor University through the Hilinski Hope Foundation.
Kim and Mark Hilinski started the foundation after their son, Tyler, died by suicide in 2018, a quarterback in Washington state.
Hope of Hilinski
Kim and Mark Hilinski started the foundation after their son Tyler, a quarter-year-old in Washington state, died by suicide in 2018.
“Tyler was so happy, so fun, so funny, so great to be around. Kim and I would say we love all our boys, but we really loved Tyler,” Mark told KWTX in a one-on-one interview.
“We never heard a single word about what he was struggling with, never saw a doctor, never got a note that he didn’t tell anyone, because of the stigma he suffered or the fear of losing his place in the team, we are. I’m not sure,” he explained.
In his honor, the duo launched the Foundation and College Football Mental Health Week in hopes of raising awareness of mental health resources for student athletes like Tyler.
“We put together these boxes with our helmets, lapel pins, patches, headbands, cheer ribbons and wristbands with the suicide hotline number on them. We send these Hope Boxes across the country and to see universities step up and join our mission and partner with us, I think it just speaks volumes about the universities and how much they care about their student-athletes. They perform on the field but they really care about them physically and emotionally,” Kim Hilinski told KWTX.
Each year, the foundation partners with several universities, but says Baylor’s partnership is particularly special.
“Our freshman year we got an email from someone at Bayer Athletics saying our football coach *should* be part of College Football Mental Health Week,” Kim explained.
We said, “Thursday night, FedEx is closed, they’re going to West Virginia, it’s impossible to get them there,” but that wasn’t true. We had a carrier come to our house in South Carolina and pick up the helmets and bring them to West Virginia, not literally, but when the team took the field, they were slapping the helmet posts.
We love that Bayer and Baylor Athletics, Athletic Director Mack Rhodes and Football Coach Dave Aranda are behind taking care of the mental health of their student athletes, which speaks to how much they care about their students. athletes and we love them for that and going forward this is our third year, we will do it forever but Baylor is big in our hearts for that,” Kim said.
Next Tuesday: KWTX@4 sat down with Bayer Mental Health Services Associate Athletic Director Monique Marsh-Bell to talk about her role in the athletic department and their efforts to promote mental health among student athletes.
Next Wednesday: KWTX@4 sat down with a former Baylor football player who details the mental challenges that come with being a college athlete.
Next Thursday: Hear from Baylor head football coach Dave Aranda and Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher on KWTX@4 about their involvement in College Football Mental Health Week.
Next Friday: KWTX@4 brings the conversation to the high school with a local high school football coach about his efforts to care for children’s mental health.
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