What William Magee Center does

The William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education is a department within the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), located in the South Campus Recreation Center in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in September 2019 following the accidental overdose death of William Magee—a former Ole Miss honors student and track athlete—the center was established through a grassroots movement catalyzed by his father David Magee's newspaper column, which was read online by more than one million people. Its mission is to transform students' lives by providing education, intervention, and support services that enhance well-being and foster academic success, with a particular focus on alcohol and other drug (AOD) challenges and substance use disorder recovery.

The center delivers an integrated suite of human-delivered services to the Ole Miss student body at no charge. Core offerings include the WellRebs peer community program, WellChats one-on-one peer support conversations, a Collegiate Recovery Community for students in recovery from substance use disorder, Wellness Resources addressing physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, Narcan (naloxone) overdose-prevention training, and requestable presentations and workshops. The center is staffed by a Director (Nicholas McAfee), two Assistant Directors (Shannon Richardson and Katherine Ann Brown), a Program Manager, an Operations Supervisor, a Collegiate Recovery Community Coordinator, and three Graduate Assistants. It also maintains an External Advisory Board whose members channel partnerships into adjacent wellness verticals (eating disorder prevention, adult education, clinical recovery, yoga-based recovery, and hot-meal community service).

The center operates as a non-commercial cost center. Revenue mechanics consist of (1) institutional budget allocations from the University of Mississippi and (2) philanthropic donations channeled through the UM Foundation, including alumni, student, parent, faculty, staff, and community contributions, supplemented by board-led fundraising. There is no fee-for-service pricing, no commercial product, and no external revenue stream. The addressable market is structurally limited to the University of Mississippi student population, with services delivered in-person on campus and through social media (Instagram, Facebook) plus bookable presentations and training.

Name

William Magee Center

Legal name

William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education (University of Mississippi Department)

Website

https://magee-center.olemiss.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education is a University of Mississippi department in Oxford, Mississippi that delivers free peer-support programs, collegiate recovery services, wellness resources, and Narcan training to Ole Miss students, founded in 2019 after William Magee's overdose death.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Wellness Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Substance Use Prevention & Recovery Services (EDALAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Promotion, Prevention & Wellness Education (EDALAFAF), Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

Keywords

• Substance use prevention
• Recovery support services
• Wellness education
• Peer support programs
• Campus mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. University Funding: Operating as a department within the University of Mississippi, funded through institutional budget allocations
2. Philanthropic Donations: Receives financial contributions from alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and community supporters; major gifts used to expand services including collegiate recovery community
3. External Advisory Board Fundraising: Board members assist with planning philanthropic events and community engagement to raise resources

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The William Magee Center delivers free, in-person wellness education, AOD (alcohol and other drug) prevention, peer support, and collegiate recovery services to University of Mississippi students. Its core offerings include the Programs & Resources portfolio (WellRebs peer community, WellChats one-on-one peer conversations, signature campus events), the Collegiate Recovery Community for students in recovery from substance use disorder, Wellness Resources for holistic well-being, Narcan/naloxone overdose response training, and requestable Presentations & Workshops. All services are provided at no cost to Ole Miss students from the South Campus Recreation Center.

Product overview

The William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education is a single-purpose university wellness center offering a suite of interconnected student support services. The core offerings consist of Programs & Resources (featuring WellRebs community and WellChats), the Collegiate Recovery Community for students in recovery from substance use disorder, Wellness Resources for holistic well-being support, and training services including Narcan training. All services are designed to transform students' lives through education, intervention, and support to enhance well-being and foster academic success at the University of Mississippi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programs & Resources Interactive programs designed to help University of Mississippi students develop and maintain healthy habits in college. Includes the WellRebs peer community for mutual wellness support, WellChats one-on-one peer conversations, and signature semester events. Free of charge to Ole Miss students.
• Collegiate Recovery Community A nurturing and affirming on-campus environment for University of Mississippi students struggling with or recovering from substance use disorder, supporting their recovery journey, academic goals, and a caring community on and off campus.
• Wellness Resources Resources supporting University of Mississippi students' physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being during challenging college experiences.
• Narcan Training Training programs that teach students how to administer Narcan (naloxone) for opioid overdose emergencies. Available to Ole Miss students on a requestable basis.
• Presentations & Workshops Requestable educational presentations and workshops designed to raise awareness about substance use, wellness, and recovery among University of Mississippi student groups and classes.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Sigma Nu Charity BowlminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Fraternity organization that donates funds to the William Magee Center. Nick McAfee and Shannon Richardson accepted a donation from the Sigma Nu Charity Bowl in 2024.
• Meal than a MealminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization in Oxford, MS founded by External Advisory Board member Kristy Bridgers. Serves hot meals on Tuesday nights and provides fellowship, tutoring, and toiletries to the Oxford-University community. Both organizations serve the Oxford community with complementary missions.
• Oxford Treatment CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTreatment facility where Kent Magee (William's mother and board member) teaches yoga as part of recovery programming, bridging clinical treatment with community wellness support.
• Baptiste Power YogaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoga studio where Kristy Bridgers, External Advisory Board member, is an instructor. She uses yoga as a means to reach and include others in the recovery community.
• 2nd Chance MSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit led by External Advisory Board member Zach Scruggs that provides support for adult students obtaining high school equivalency and workforce credentials. Aligns with the center's mission of supporting student success and recovery.
• Southern SmashminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEating disorder awareness and prevention organization founded by External Advisory Board member McCall Dempsey. Represents the center's broader wellness education mission addressing various health challenges beyond substance use.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• SMART Recovery: SMART Recovery is a non-profit providing mutual-support, peer-led addiction recovery programs with online and in-person meetings—comparable to the Magee Center's peer-led WellChats and Collegiate Recovery Community approach, though without the campus-locked structure.
• The Change Companies: The Change Companies develop evidence-based substance use prevention and behavioral health curricula used in schools and colleges—comparable to the Magee Center's presentations and workshops offering, though delivered as commercial curricula rather than direct service.

Broad incumbents

• Caron Treatment Centers: Caron is a non-profit addiction treatment provider that also runs prevention and education programming—including partnerships with universities—overlapping with the Magee Center on substance use education and recovery support.
• JED Foundation: JED is a national non-profit focused on mental health and suicide prevention for teens and college students, partnering with universities on wellness programming—overlapping with the Magee Center's broader student wellness mission but at much greater scale.
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Hazelden Betty Ford is a national leader in substance use treatment, recovery, and prevention education—comparable to the Magee Center in mission (substance use prevention and recovery) but operating at vastly greater scale across clinical and educational settings.

Direct peers

• Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD) at Ohio State University: Ohio State's HECAOD is a regionally and nationally recognized center focused on collegiate AOD prevention, research, and recovery—sharing the William Magee Center's blend of campus-based services and academic research on student substance use.
• Center for Students in Recovery at the University of Texas at Austin: UT Austin's CRC provides collegiate recovery community programming, peer support, and wellness services for students in recovery—a directly comparable model to the William Magee Center's Collegiate Recovery Community offering.
• Active Minds: Active Minds is a student-led mental health awareness and advocacy organization active on hundreds of U.S. campuses, including Ole Miss—comparable to the Magee Center in targeting student mental health and wellness through peer-driven programming.
• Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies: Rutgers CAS is a long-standing academic center combining alcohol and substance use research, education, and training—comparable to the Magee Center's combination of programming and co-located research institute.
• Texas Tech Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities: Texas Tech operates one of the earliest and most established collegiate recovery communities in the U.S., offering peer support, recovery housing, and wellness programming structurally similar to the Magee Center's CRC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/olemisswmc
• Instagraminstagram.com/olemisswmc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/william-magee-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about William Magee Center