Number #82
Adidas & The Hidden Opponent’s Merch Collab Supports NCAA Mental Health
Featured Focus:
Health & Wellness, Partnerships for Good, Athlete-Driven Impact
Scope of Impact: Nationwide
Adidas Dugout is stepping into a new game, championing mental health awareness for NCAA baseball players through a powerful collaboration. This move signals a deeper commitment to athlete well-being beyond physical performance. Here’s the play-by-play:
The merch: The "Together We Face" collection is designed to make a statement. Featuring a cotton jersey, Adizero cleats and trainers, an Ultraboost 1.0, and a graphic tee, each piece carries visual reminders like "Together We Face" and "A Place to Grow," intended to be grounding mantras that offer silent support, on and off the diamond.
The message: Adidas’ partnership with The Hidden Opponent, a non-profit dedicated to shattering mental health stigma in sports, is a critical part of giving this initiative weight and authenticity. Six NCAA baseball athletes are also adding their voices — Parker Byrd, Jackson Hauge, Ayden Garcia, Malakhi Knight, Damian Bravo, and Jack Cebert — sharing personal stories of resilience to amplifying the campaign's message.
The mission: The collab’s intention is to help chip-away at the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in the high-pressure world of collegiate sports. By creating gear with visible support messages, Adidas and The Hidden Opponent hope to show athletes that they’re not alone in their struggles. Where this really comes to life, though, is in the extended support network provided by The Hidden Opponent's Campus Captains program across universities.
It would have been very easy for Adidas to create this collection on their own, and still be able to tell a story of athlete support and community impact. Their collaboration with The Hidden Opponent (THO) was the right play, though, because it adds a critical element of expertise, and ensures the campaign is grounded in genuine understanding of student-athlete mental health needs. It also opened the door for NCAA baseball players connected with THO to share their own narratives of resilience — and stories from peers are typically more powerful than anything a brand could ever say.
While there isn’t a clear “donation with purchase” component to this initiative, Adidas may be doing something even more impactful by building a longer-term partnership with THO, which began in 2024. By investing in the nonprofit’s work beyond the gear collaboration, they’re also helping them bring their Campus Captains program to more schools – which may be the component that'll drive the most on-the-ground impact. Of course, this kind of commitment is a great PR play, too, helping to make the Adidas brand synonymous with supporting athletes’ mental wellbeing.
YOUR NEXT PLAY:
The "Together We Face" collection takes a multifaceted approach that’s really a WIN | WIN | WIN for everyone involved. The combination of products, partnerships, and storytelling creates multiple touchpoints, and also extends the longevity of the impact past a simple awareness month campaign.
Another thing that’s beautiful about this model is that it’s accessible for any brand, team, or NPO, regardless of size or budget. By bringing together multiple entities working toward a shared goal, you can create a classic “more than the sum of its parts” situation — and amplify everyone’s impact together.
Beyond sneakers, Adidas is also putting mental health awareness messages on other merch.
The nonprofit behind the Adidas partnership is a leading voice for athlete mental health advocacy and support.
The NCAA's official resources for student-athlete mental health.
As the conversation continues to become more mainstream, so do the sports brands addressing it.
Player anecdotes and a 2023 NCAA report reveals that conversations about mental health with a coach are still a difficult hurdle to overcome.
An Eastern Carolina University NCAA Baseball player returns to the game he loves after a tough mental and physical journey.
