FARGO — The pain in Josh Galvin’s voice is still evident, with the thought of his brother taking his own life in 2019. The North Dakota State golfer knows all too well the consequences of mental health.

Along with his teammate, Beck Erholtz, they are doing something about it along with other NDSU athletes. Whether it’s a golfer dealing with a missed two-foot putt or a Bison football team coming off a historic loss at the University of North Dakota, the Bison golfers want all of their fellow student-athletes to know that help is available.

They want them to know that it’s OK to admit personal struggles between the ears.

“I think there’s that stigma where we’re supposed to be big and tough, men especially,” Erholtz said. “I think if you saw someone like a football player take that step and say, hey, I need to go to a meeting or I need to see someone, people would feel like it’s OK, like for this guy who can bench 400 pounds. The goal in this is do we care about the mental state of our athletes and do we care about the mental state of the people around our campus.”

Luke Galvin was a freshman in college when Josh said “unfortunately that was my introduction to mental health.”

“Over the past two or three years, I’ve always been thinking about what I could do,” Josh said.

It started when he sent NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen an email at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday last spring — the fact Galvin remembers the exact day and time is a testament to his mission — and Larsen got back to him the next day to set up a meeting.

“It shows the support system we have here and I don’t think it’s like that anywhere else,” Galvin said. “It’s hard to tell; most people don’t even know they’re struggling. So if a friend notices that they’re down, take a meeting with so-and-so or go to talk to your friends. I think it’s going to make a huge difference. If you’re talking to someone, it’s not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.”

Said Erholtz: “People don’t like to mainstream it as much because it’s seen as a softer subject. Maybe it’s something you don’t want to put out there but I guess we’re trying to change that image to say it’s everyone. Everyone goes through it.”

Perhaps some Bison football players are going through struggles this week after a 49-24 loss at UND, one where NDSU gave up the most points to UND since the 1890s. As for his message to those players, Erholtz said “You can’t change your past, but you can change your future. Stay focused and strong, both mentally and physically.”

The Bison host Western Illinois Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

For Erholtz and Galvin, that kind of mental health advice can be hard to find for players. In the three years they’ve been at the school, they hadn’t seen anything comparable, especially a student-driven initiative. Larsen said the timing is right since the Bison administration has been in the process of putting a higher priority on it, with the hope of partnering with Sanford Health to provide dedicated mental health services similar to how the athletic department works with Sanford’s orthopedic department.

“Ideally, in a perfect world, we would like to have somebody embedded within our department,” Larsen said. “We think they would be plenty busy. We’ve seen things range from stress and anxiety to maybe a little more severe mental health issues so having somebody that student-athletes can build a rapport with and feel comfortable with is something we’re hoping to get through for the long term.”

In the short term, if a student-athlete needs help, the NDSU Counseling Center has assistance readily available. NDSU’s athletic training staff is schooled on how to deal with health issues, whether it’s recommending options on where to get help or to assist in making appointments, Larsen said.

Erholtz and Galvin’s initiative carries the theme “Speak Up! Be Herd,” with the logo on apparel designed by Heather Erholtz, Beck’s mother. An online store is set up at

https://ndsumentalhealthstore.itemorder.com/shop/home/

, where the public can purchase items. The deadline to order is Sunday, Oct. 29.

“We’d like our community to see that and go, OK, and the athletes can wear it and spread that message,” Erholtz said. “Originally it was just going to be hey, let’s get it to the athletes and spread awareness and once we saw how popular it was with our athletes and our staff supporting us, I wanted to take that initiative and force it into a merchandise-type deal.”

The proceeds from apparel sales will go back in the form of a scholarship for students who either have mental health issues or have endured some sort of mental health trauma. Once the funds are established, criteria for the scholarship will be addressed.

The shirts and logo were unveiled at the start of this school year at a welcome-back barbecue event for student-athletes. Both Beck Erholtz and Galvin spoke to the group.

“I thought there was a really good reaction from their fellow student-athletes,” Larsen said. “I know they want to make it broader and bigger than that. I know they want to raise awareness as much as they can.”

Galvin points to members of any team sport being susceptible to needing an outside source to talk with. Bison football has over 100 players on the team. Women’s track and field has over 60 on its roster. Women’s soccer has almost 30 players.

“If I had a bad practice, I don’t want to go talk to a teammate who’s there and doesn’t understand what I’m going through,” he said.

Or, on the flipside, a younger athlete coming to a Division I school and not playing much right away. Oftentimes, they come to NDSU having been a decorated high school athlete.

“You come here and you get humbled a little bit,” Erholtz said. “Or if you don’t feel like you’re improving at the same rate as some of your teammates are, or your scores aren’t getting any better, I think it’s easy to get down on yourself and feel like I’m kind of alone here.”

That’s especially evident in golf. The 18-hole score is the score and for Galvin in his first two years, just making the starting lineup was a chore. Keep in mind the Bison have been Summit League tournament contenders.

“Every shot matters and you feel super anxious just trying to qualify to go to tournaments,” he said. “I know I’ve talked to a bunch of my teammates who have said (qualifying) is a lot more stressful than playing in the tournaments because you’re more relieved that you’re there. You feel more freed up.”

Galvin spoke up. He’s been “Herd.” The hope is the message gets contagious.

Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.