Wisconsin athletic program earns diversity award

UW–Madison was one of 10 NCAA Division I-A athletic departments and the only Big Ten school to receive the Diversity in Athletics Award presented annually by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University. This is the first time the Badger program was recognized.

Programs receive credit for the rankings in seven categories: diversity strategy, sex diversity of department employees, racial diversity of department employees, graduation of African-American male and female student-athletes, Title IX compliance and overall excellence in diversity.

The top recipients of the Overall Excellence in Diversity Award are Arizona State University; University of Arizona; University of Buffalo; University of Louisiana, Monroe; University of Nevada; Temple University; University of Tulsa; University of Washington; UW–Madison; and Washington State University.

The purpose of the Diversity in Athletics Award is to recognize athletic departments that excel in the area of diversity. Specifically, this award is aimed at highlighting the diversity success stories. In doing so, the award illustrates that it is possible to have a diverse workplace and provide equitably for all persons, irrespective of their individual differences.

“We are pleased to be acknowledged as a national leader in this area,” UW senior associate athletic director Vince Sweeney says. “Over the years, people have worked very hard to make things happen. You’re never done. It’s an ongoing process. But we think we’ve made progress and its’ nice to have an external entity recognize the progress.”

Ratings were affected by a number of items, such as whether African Americans and other persons of color are represented in head coaching and leadership positions; the graduation rates for racial minority athletes in respect to their white counterparts; whether women receive the participation opportunities or funding to which they are entitled under federal guidelines (Title IX); and whether women are underrepresented as athletic coaches and in administrative positions. The award also reviews whether persons with disabilities have limited access to positions within athletic departments and if gay and lesbian athletes, coaches and administrators are subjected to discrimination. The award is designed to look at the issues and reward university athletics programs that excel in the area of diversity.

Data were collected from all NCAA Division I-A university athletic departments. The data were collected from a variety of sources including questionnaires distributed to five athletic administrators from each department. Graduation rate data were collected from the NCAA Web site using the four-year average for each school. Title IX compliance was based on the proportion of female athletes relative to the proportion of female undergraduates. Data were gathered from the U.S. Department of Education Web site. The scores from each category were summed to arrive at a final excellence in diversity score.