New Game, New Stressors: Collegiate Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Mental Health in the NIL and Transfer Portal Era

Coaches experience considerable stress and anxiety in their pursuit of both team and individual success. Although there has been an increase in research aimed at promoting and managing the mental health of student-athletes, the mental well-being of coaches remains underexplored. Research indicates that the mental health profiles of coaches are similar to those of elite athletes [1] and should receive comparable attention. The introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) legislation, along with the rise of the Transfer Portal in collegiate athletics, has presented student-athletes with new and unexpected options, which also bring novel challenges to coaches and potentially impact elite-level coaches’ mental health. This manuscript will identify three categories of stressors—performance, organizational, and self-related—that affect elite men’s college basketball coaches, highlighting how NIL and the Transfer Portal exacerbate those stressors and their impact on coaches’ mental health.