DALLAS (SMU) – This weekend, New York Times best-selling sports journalist Kate Fagan spoke to SMU student-athletes, coaches and staff about the mounting pressures facing young adults, specifically student-athletes in the rise of social media and constant connectivity.
 
This year, SMU coaches and staff committed to reading Fagan's No. 1 New York Times best-seller "What Made Maddy Run," which addresses the important issues of anxiety, depression and suicide in a perfectionist, social media-driven society. The book began as a piece that Fagan wrote about Maddy and her experience, but what started as a profile of a successful young athlete whose life ended in suicide became so much larger when Fagan started to hear from other college athletes also grappling with mental illness.
 
"I want to thank Kate for sharing such an important message with us about the role culture, technology and mental health play in today's society and, in particular, with our youth," said Director of Athletics Rick Hart.
 
Fagan served as a columnist and feature writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, as well as an on-air talent for ESPN for seven years. She frequently appeared on "Outside the Lines" and "E:60" and was a core member of The Friday Four. She also made more than 150 appearances on "Around the Horn," and she served as the show's first female host in 2017.
 
In addition to her work with ESPN, Fagan is a sought-after speaker on athlete mental health and the variables facing female athletes.