UA Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services recently hosted Scott Cochran, the former strength and conditioning coach for Alabama Football, on campus as he shared his personal experience with addiction and how he found recovery. Strength in Recovery: Scott Cochran’s Journey provided space for students as well as campus and community partners to be inspired by his story.
On an afternoon in April, students filled a classroom at Doster Hall to hear firsthand about the struggles Cochran faced and how years of pushing himself in a high-pressure coaching environment led to debilitating migraines, chronic stress and eventually an addiction to opioids. In 2020, his addiction nearly took his life. Following that experience, Cochran spent nearly a month at a recovery center in Massachusetts. There, he began to take a major first step towards sobriety.
But like many people in recovery, his journey wasn’t a straight line. In 2023, he relapsed. It was another turning point — his wife confronted him, and he entered another rehab program. Since then, Cochran has remained sober and committed to helping others do the same.
Students who attended the event were moved by his story. Cochran did not shy away from the hard parts. He spoke about his overdose, his relapse and how lost he felt. But he also emphasized how he found hope again, and how recovering saved his life.
“I believe Coach Cochran’s message about recovery is so important for students in a variety of ways,” said Alex Liveoak, the assistant director of CRIS. “To see someone of his stature and fame having the same struggles they face opens their minds to the fact that this disease truly can affect anyone.”
“Also, since we were all kids, we’ve all been told that if you mess up in the ways that he messed up, your life is over, and you’ll have no opportunities in life,” Loveoak added. “This causes a lot of people to give up after they have messed up because they believe what they were told. Scott’s message about still being successful despite his battle with addiction really shows that’s not the case. We all genuinely love a comeback story.”
Events like this are important for creating a supportive space for students in recovery. They help break the stigma surrounding addiction and encourage more open conversations about mental health and healing.
“I think Coach Cochran’s message about combatting stigma is so important,” said Greg Vander Wal, the executive director of CRIS and the UA Counseling Center. “Addiction thrives in silence and shame. For students to have an opportunity to hear from someone who can be so open about their struggle can be very empowering and can help someone who may be struggling with something similar have the courage to reach out for support.”
Cochran’s story didn’t just focus on his past; it carried a powerful message of purpose. He hopes to use this experience to help others feel less alone and more empowered to seek support. His goal goes beyond personal healing; he’s become an advocate for changing the way people talk about addiction.
“I’m trying to eliminate the stigma on this disease. It’s a scary stigma … My number one thing is helping someone,” Cochran said.
He also left students with a reminder that recovery, though difficult, is worth it.
“If you are pushing through it and trying to do something, and you are doing it the right way and it is starting to get hard, don’t quit. Do not quit,” Cochran said.
Cochran also shared his story again with campus and community partners at a private event to raise financial support for CRIS through the Ray and Kathy Hayes Family Endowment and The Martin J. Stovall Promises Scholarship Endowment. Thanks to the generosity from donors and many sponsors (listed below), the event raised over $20,000 for students involved with collegiate recovery at UA.
Sponsors:
- Nick’s Kids Foundation
- Alan and Paula Cheney
- Ager Burkhart Healey Team of LAH Sotheby’s International Realty
- Allergy Services of America
- Bryant Bank
- John and Jennifer Farrow
- Ray and Kathy Hayes
- John and Alice Maxwell
- Scott and Carroll Phelps
- Brad and Janis Stovall
- Alabama Research Institute on Aging
- Center for Substance Use Research and Related Conditions
- College of Human Environmental Science
If you’d like to support students involved with our Collegiate Recovery Community, please consider a gift to the Healthy Living Fund.