Helping Athletes Thrive

When Ball State University Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell was looking to fill out his administrative staff, he took an innovative approach for one of his senior roles.

“Our responsibility to our student-athletes is to offer experiences and resources to assist in their holistic development,” Mr. Mitchell said. “We are learning that an important component of that development is advancing mental health. We would like to demystify the stigma around mental health and make it routine and comfortable to talk about. We want to provide opportunities for our student-athletes to thrive when it comes to mental health and their performance both athletically and academically.”

To meet that priority, he didn’t have to look far to fill the new position of associate director of athletics for championship performance.

Having been at Ball State since 2008, including serving as a faculty athletics representative for the previous six years, Dr. Lindsey Blom joined the athletics staff in the Fall of 2023 and is one of only a few nationally in a position that focuses on student-athletes’ mental health and performance.

In her newly created position, Dr. Blom will positively impact the performance of Ball State student-athletes, utilizing sport psychology, mental skills coaching, and performance enhancement techniques.

A former standout soccer player at Georgia Southern University and a member of the school’s Hall of Fame, Dr. Blom has first-hand knowledge of what it is like to be a student-athlete and is keen on helping others succeed.

“I was getting more invested in athletics, and as I worked with a couple of great athletic directors, I got to be involved in more decision-making spaces around athletics. I really liked that space,” she said. “As the landscape in athletics is getting trickier and more complicated, it was inviting to me to come in and be part of the solution and what the future can look like in athletics.”

Dr. Blom’s responsibilities at Ball State are divided between athletics and the College of Health in this uncommon role. She is the sport administrator for the gymnastics, softball, women’s golf, and women’s volleyball teams. In addition, she teaches graduate-level courses and supervises students who do mental skills work with student-athletes.

“Faculty members and athletics are not usually a joined space, but the more I talked with Jeff (Mitchell), the more I thought this could be a really good fit,” Dr. Blom said. “It kind of came together in the right place at the right time.”

With a doctoral degree in sport psychology and master’s degrees in kinesiology and counseling, Dr. Blom has a high level of expertise in holistic student-athlete performance and well-being, specifically related to sport psychology, sports science, and academic success.

Through her unique and transformative role, Dr. Blom can continue to build upon her strong foundation of helping others achieve greatness.