{
  "id": 2883274,
  "title": "MSSU, Freeman make pilot mental health program for athletes permanent",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/mssu-freeman-make-pilot-mental-health-program-for-athletes-permanent",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-23T22:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mssu-freeman-pilot-mental-health-223100389.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) and Freeman Health System’s Ozark Center have made a mental health program for student-athletes permanent. The partnership, called the Performance Excellence Initiative, integrates mental wellness into athletics culture. The initiative began as a two-year pilot program, with Freeman Health System's performance coach and psychologist Brett Miller embedded in MSSU's football and volleyball programs. The program's success led to the addition of licensed professional counselor Morgan Christy, expanding services to more athletes. MSSU athletic director Rob Mallory believes MSSU is among the leaders in providing mental health services to college athletes. The initiative goes beyond traditional mental health services, focusing on mental performance development. MSSU football coach Atiba Bradley is confident in Miller's ability to provide a coach-like presence for student-athletes.",
  "summary": "For almost two years, Brett Miller, a performance coach and licensed psychologist with Freeman Health System’s Ozark Center, has been embedded in the football and volleyball programs at Missouri Southern State University. It’s part of a pilot mental health program developed by the two institutions. The results of the pilot program have been good enough that Southern and the Ozark Center ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}