Racial Participation and Integration in Men’s and Women’s Intercollegiate Basketball: Continuity and Change, 1958–1985

Abstract

This article examines the relationship, over time, between the analytically separable phenomena of interracial participation and racial integration in intercollegiate basketball. A large sample of NCAA men’s and women’s teams is analyzed to determine trends between 1958 and 1985 in levels of racial participation, degrees of equal opportunity for blacks, and the extent of racial “stacking.” Comparisons are made among NCAA divisions, geographical regions, public and private schools, and men’s and women’s basketball. The findings support Kanter’s (1977) general proposition that the proportion of a minority group’s representation in an organization is an important dimension of that organization’s life.