An Examination of Racial Diversity in Collegiate Football

Abstract

Anderson (1993) published an in-depth analysis of Division IA football coaching opportunities utilizing a centrality framework and concluded that institutional racial discrimination was restricting Black coaches career opportunities in intercollegiate athletics. The present study aims to provide an update of his study by conducting a 15-year trend analysis of football coaches at the Division IA level, comparing Anderson's (1993) data from 1990 to data from 2005. Data were collected from 116 media guides at the conclusion of the 2005 season, and X² analyses were used to compare data across the two timeframes. The results provide evidence that institutional racism is still potentially an active deterrent to achieving greater racial diversity among Division IA football coaches as head coaches and coordinators.