Do College Athletes Learn from Racial Diversity in Intercollegiate Athletics?
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether college athletes perceived that their exposure to racial diversity from within intercollegiate athletics was an important part of their education. Two NCAA Division I and one NCAA Division II institution in Michigan were surveyed, with 188 athletes participating. Athletes were asked to respond to 15 questions intended to measure perceptions of racial diversity within athletic teams and as athletes within the college environment. The results demonstrated that racial diversity within intercollegiate athletics was an important part of the education of student-athletes, both on teams with significant racial diversity (men’s football, men’s basketball) and for athletes on teams largely homogeneous in membership (such as men’s golf or women’s field hockey). Intercollegiate athletics is a useful way to provide opportunities for quality interracial interaction, which helps students to learn about multiculturalism and functioning in a diverse
