SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION & HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES
The Playbook 2.0
Since 2024, It’s On Us has trained nearly 3,000 college athletes to be leaders in violence prevention on their campuses through The Playbook. Building on the success of this research-backed workshop series, the Playbook 2.0 is a comprehensive prevention education program designed to help colleges and universities meet Campus SaVE and NCAA attestation compliance requirements while delivering high-quality, athlete-specific training.
Developed specifically for college athletics, the program equips student athletes with the knowledge and skills required to prevent sexual violence and promote healthy relationships.
The expanded Playbook 2.0 offers institutions the option to adopt four distinct programs customized for both men and women in college athletics. Both program suites cover sexual communication and consent, bystander intervention, healthy relationships, navigating breakups, and trauma-informed mental health, using suite-specific scenarios and exercises tailored to the lived experiences of student athletes.
HOW TO HOST YOUR TRAININGS
The Playbook 2.0 includes four workshops for men and four workshops for women, each designed to build practical skills in:
- Sexual communication & consent
- Bystander intervention
- Healthy relationships
- Navigating breakups
- Trauma-informed mental health
Implementation
It’s On Us leaders facilitate the Playbook 2.0 through team-based sessions of up to 50 athletes, with larger teams split into smaller groups as needed. Trainings can be in person or virtual, and each session blends icebreakers, guided discussion, and interactive exercises to keep athletes engaged and actively participating.
The Workshops
This is the foundational workshop of The Playbook and should be completed prior to athletes participating in the four additional prevention programs. The remainder of The Playbook’s content builds on the knowledge athletes gain through participation in this first workshop.
Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:
- Define consent, including verbal and non-verbal consent.
- Correctly identify situations in which consent has or has not been given.
- Understand the scope and impact of campus sexual violence.
- Correctly describe behaviors that constitute sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and harassment.
- Know how to navigate rejection.
This workshop addresses the spectrum of relationship experiences and how to set and respect boundaries in relationships.
Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:
- Correctly identify if a relationship behavior is healthy, unhealthy, or abusive.
- Proactively address feelings of insecurity in a relationship.
- How to navigate conflict and fight “fair” in relationships.
- How to set their own and respect the boundaries of others in their relationships.
This workshop addresses the critical sexual assault and dating violence prevention topic of active bystander intervention.
Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:
- Define what it means to be an active bystander.
- Identify situations in which an active bystander can and should step in to stop a situation from becoming violent.
- Identify the best active bystander method for themselves – and when a situation requires more than just one active bystander to get involved.
This workshop addresses breakups – from why they happen to how to cope with a breakup in a healthy and respectful manner.
Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:
- Understand the complex reasons why relationships end.
- Know how to end a relationship in a healthy and respectful manner.
- Know how to end an unhealthy or abusive relationship in a way that is safe.
- Have the tools and knowledge to cope with a breakup and get closure for a relationship that has ended.
- Know how to support a friend or teammate going through a breakup.
This workshop addresses the various types of trauma someone may experience in their lifetime and what resources are available to support someone recovering from a traumatic experience.
Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:
- Identify the types of trauma that someone can experience.
- Recognize the symptoms of trauma manifesting in themselves or others.
- Seek support for themselves or others who have experienced some form of trauma.
- Effectively respond to someone else’s disclosure of a traumatic experience.
RESOURCES FOR COACHES & ADMINISTRATORS
It’s On Us has compiled the following resources for coaches and athletic administrators to support their prevention education efforts.
- 1in6.org
- MaleSurvivor.org
- The Trevor Project (LGBTQIA+ Survivor Specific)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center
- You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity
- For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity
- How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men
- Violated: Exposing Rape at Baylor University amid College Football’s Sexual Assault Crisis
- Roll Red Roll: Rape, Power, and Football in the American Heartland
- Game Over: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence
- Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town