The NCAA and the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M recently honored a group of Division III schools with the 2008-09 Diversity in Athletics awards.

A total of 38 athletics departments, including nine overall winners, earned the honor, which the laboratory presents in collaboration with the NCAA.

Established in 2005, the Diversity in Athletics award annually highlights athletics departments that excel in diversity. Recipients are recognized in six categories – diversity strategy, gender diversity of employees, racial diversity of employees, value and attitudinal diversity, gender equity (Title IX proportionality), and overall diversity. This is the first year that Division III schools have been recognized.

The nine overall winners – all Division III institutions – were Carleton, Chatham, Haverford, John Jay, Mary Baldwin, New Jersey City, Occidental, Massachusetts-Boston and Wisconsin-Stout. These institutions will be honored in at the Division III business session January 16 at the 2010 NCAA Convention in Atlanta. The focus for the awards this year was on Division III, since Divisions I and II schools had been recognized previously.

In congratulating all the winners, Dan Dutcher, NCAA vice president for Division III, said enhancing diversity is an important goal for the division.

“This award is significant because it demonstrates that diversity is more than a theoretical concept,” he said. “These institutions have demonstrated that diversity can be achieved on a very practical and personal level, further enhancing the educational experience of our student-athletes. These institutions can serve as a model and guide for the rest of our membership.”

Winners in each category were determined by responses to a questionnaire that was sent to the top athletics administrators at every Division III institution and other archival data sources. A total of 199 athletics departments responded to the survey. Schools were ranked in each category and points were awarded based on those rankings.

George Cunningham, an associate professor at Texas A&M and director of the laboratory, noted that from a research perspective, Division III institutions differed from Divisions I and II schools that have been recognized in previous years in that there are more single-gender institutions in Division III and in that Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships (and thus don’t track graduation rates for student-athletes).

Overall, though, Cunningham said the number of Division III schools that scored well across all the categories was striking. He also noted that even institutions that were located in areas of the country that are not traditionally known as being diverse demonstrated exceptional dedication to diversity.

“That just shows that the overall commitment that they have among these schools to diversity, and it’s across the board,” said Cunningham. “It points to the leadership of those schools, of the athletics department and the coaches and administrators in that department, that they really have a commitment to diversity.”

Wisconsin-Stout Athletics Director Joe Harlan said diversity is priority for his athletics department. Recruiting has played an especially crucial role in broadening the university’s reach and drawing students from a wide variety of backgrounds to the school, Harlan said, including a gymnast from Hawaii.  

Diversity has certainly been a winner for Alice DeFazio, director of athletics at New Jersey City, who likened the Gothic Knight athletics department to a melting pot that enhances the student-athlete experience. 

“We’re very reflective, in my mind, of the real word,” said DeFazio. “We have so many countries represented, even in our athletics department. It’s a great teaching tool.”

DeFazio said diversity is a point of emphasis and an important part of the culture at New Jersey City.

“Encourage interaction and encourage recruitment of different races, different ethnicities, different socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “The bottom line is, don’t fear diversity. Embrace it and run with it.”