The Bill Walton Foundation
Presents
A campus tour and a mental wellness conversation, built for college student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.
The Stakes
Suicide rates among college student-athletes,
over the past two decades.
The pressure they carry has grown faster than the support around them.
Everyone deserves someone who believes in them. When you think you've hit rock bottom, when you have nothing left in the tank and when you're searching for a reason to keep going — who do you think of?
The Thesis
College athletics has built an extraordinary system for performance, but it hasn't built one for athletes.
That's the gap we're here to change.
What This Is
The score on the board has never been the most important thing about who they are.
Honoring Bill Walton — inspired by the way Bill lived, and the way John Wooden taught him. Built for student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
The Format
Three hours, twice a day, on one campus.
Session 01
Peer-to-Peer · Student-Athletes led to build trust
This session is built for all student-athletes — peer to peer discussions grounded in trust and elevated by experience. It's a session unlike any other: honest, impactful, and unforgettable, a moment that stays long after the session ends.
Session 02
Peer-to-Peer · Coaches led and anchored
Coaches and administrators set the tone in every locker room. This session is built for the leaders who define the standard, and for the consistency they carry through the entire season.
The Arch
Session 1 is a conversation led by coaches, for coaches. Session 2 shifts to student-athletes sharing their lived experiences — honest, unfiltered, and grounded in reality.
01
Session 1 led by coaches, for coaches. Session 2 led by student-athletes sharing lived experiences — honest, unfiltered, grounded in reality.
02
They bring the facts, the data, the trends, and the unfiltered reality of what's happening to college student-athletes today.
03
The host opens the session and threads it together — a credible and influential voice that builds a trusted environment.
04
A motivational voice that represents leadership, resilience, and a life beyond sports.
Honoree
1952 – 2024
Bill Walton's legacy was never just about basketball. It was about humanity, connection, encouragement, and showing people they mattered. He inspired generations by the way he lived, the way he cared, and the way he lifted others up.
— Roger Wilson
A Champion, Educator, Broadcaster, and relentless advocate for human connection, mental wellness, and living life with purpose. A Hall of Famer, Bill represented something far greater than basketball.
He believed deeply in people. In lifting others up. In creating environments where young people felt seen, valued, encouraged, and supported beyond performance alone.
Values
Live, lead, and uplift others.
Core Beliefs
01
02
03
Visual Anchors
04
05
06
Cultural Truths
07
08
09
Vision Forward
10
11
12
Founder
With three decades at the intersection of sports, leadership, storytelling, and human connection — working alongside some of the most respected organizations and personalities in sports — he saw firsthand that behind every performance is a person carrying pressure, expectations, and the need for support.
That perspective became the foundation for More Than The Game: a movement built to help student-athletes feel seen, supported, and empowered beyond competition.
Performance matters. But people matter more. Sport has the power to elevate performance, but its greatest responsibility is to protect the person behind it. When we invest in the human being first, everything else becomes possible. — Roger Wilson, Founder
The Roster
College athletics has built an extraordinary system for performance, but it hasn't built one for athletes. That's the gap we're here to change.
Marquee Voices
Trusted before they walk in the room
The marquee close is delivered by a voice the audience came in already trusting — someone the room will remember after walking out the door.
Peer Voices
Setting the temperature in the room
Each campus session is led by coaches at the top of their profession. Their role is to set the temperature in the room before the marquee speaker arrives.
Clinical Authority
A mental health and performance advisor guiding the educational initiatives, athlete wellness conversations, and overall commitment to the wellbeing of student-athletes.
Dr. Chris Bader
Ph.D. · LP · CMPC
Assistant Athletic Director for Mental Health & Performance, University of Arkansas
Kelli
Moran-Miller
Ph.D. · CMPC
Stanford University
RA Kweku Amoasi
Ph.D. · LP · HSP · CMPC
USOPC
KC Cross
MA · LMSW
University of Arkansas
Elaine Anton-Lotruglio
LPC
University of Albany — SUNY
Institutions
Presenter
The Foundation serves as a mission-aligned partner helping elevate the conversation around student-athlete mental wellness, human connection, and purpose beyond performance. Rooted in a lifelong commitment to compassion, education, mentorship, and community, the Foundation helps carry forward a message that sports are ultimately about people first.
Organization
MTTG Media leads the day-to-day operations and strategic execution of More Than The Game. The organization oversees the national campus tour, podcast and storytelling platforms, brand development and media initiatives, partnerships and community engagement, and relationships with student-athletes, coaches, and universities.
The public-facing branding will feature: The Bill Walton Foundation Presents More Than The Game. MTTG Media functions as the organization responsible for operations, production, and execution.
Timeline
January
2027
More Than The Game opens the inaugural season in winter 2026–27. The first campus partnerships are being built through 2026.
Campus locations and tour calendar to be announced
Outcomes
The conversations are led by voices people already trust, respect, and relate to — creating meaningful impact.
01
Everyone leaves the room knowing someone understands what they're carrying.
02
The conversations are led by voices people already trust, respect, and relate to.
03
New peer relationships continue beyond the event — creating connection, trust, and support.
04
The experience creates space to put the person before performance.
05
Athletes, coaches, and leaders walk away with practical tools they can immediately bring back into the locker room.
06
MTTG helps campuses build cultures rooted in connection, openness, accountability, and mental wellness.
What's Next
The Campus Tour is the visible expression of the program. The broader work around it carries the mission forward between events — through ongoing storytelling, resources, and engagement.
Timing
There are moments when movements become necessary, and this is one of them. The data is undeniable, the pressure on student-athletes is escalating, and the crisis is unfolding in real time.
When the urgency of mental wellness aligns with the legacy, credibility, and inspiration behind MTTG, it creates a responsibility to act immediately. MTTG exists because the need is urgent, and the opportunity to create lasting cultural change is now.
Suicide among college student-athletes has doubled over the last twenty years. The pressure continues to rise, while the systems designed to support them struggle to keep pace.
The MTTG voices are respected athletes, coaches, and clinicians building trust through compassion, honesty, and shared experience. Their stories transform the conversation from awareness into hope, connection, and action.
The Bill Walton Foundation was launched in Bill's memory — carrying forward a voice that challenged people to lead with humanity, connection, and compassion.
Shine On
When we show up for one another, everybody wins. More Than The Game is being built in the open, with the people who will carry it forward.
Building This With Us
Roger Wilson
Founder · More Than The Game