Why Ohio State Football Coach Ryan Day and His Wife, Nina, Champion Mental Health.

Since taking over in 2019, the Ohio State head football coach has, after all, amassed an amazing resume that includes two Big Ten titles, two trips to the College Football Playoffs, the coaching of twelve first-team All-Americans, and four appearances in the Heisman Trophy race. Even with those successes, Day’s greatest accomplishment might not have anything to do with Saturday afternoon games or rankings. Rather, it centers on a covert, off-the-field health concern and the steps he has taken to bring it to the attention of the young men he coaches as well as the larger Central Ohio community at large (and beyond).

Day and his spouse, Christina “Nina” Day, announced in August that they would be donating $1 million to the OSU Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine via the Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund, which they had recently created. With a focus on young adults, the fund will be used to combat the stigma associated with mental health issues, expand the availability of resources for mental health treatment, and launch studies on resilience—the capacity of a person to overcome hardship, stress, and trauma.

The Days have a strong belief in mental health and well-being, which is supported by their own personal pain and firsthand experience. This is why their advocacy is more than just a pet subject. When Day’s father committed suicide when he was eight years old, talking about mental health was frowned upon and stigmatized. He has stated that it took him a long time to realize and accept that his father’s death was due to mental illness.

However, Day warns that a tragedy shouldn’t be necessary to start a dialogue on mental health. “Anyone can take part in eradicating the stigma associated with mental health and ensuring their own mental well-being,” he states in a recent interview conducted in his Woody Hayes Athletic Center office.

This day, Nina, who has struggled with anxiety her entire life, is seated behind him. She states that throughout her final two years of college, her severe anxiety caused her to give up on things she enjoyed doing, including playing basketball. She says, “It was just that I felt like I was suffering alone.” “Back then, you just couldn’t talk about it.”

Their contribution will contribute to preventing feelings of isolation and loneliness among young adults in the future. Dr. K. Luan Phan, chair of Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, states, “We believe that as young adults migrate away from home into school, or a job, they face a period of transition that is often positive and exciting but can also be challenging and stressful.” “We feel that the most effective way to support early intervention and prevention efforts is to give young adults the tools they need to grow and nurture resilience in the face of adversity.”