A recent internal study conducted as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's re-certification process revealed that athletic teams were less than one-third as diverse as the larger student body. In strongly- worded language, the report recommended that the College work to close the "significant gap" in minority representation.
The report identified 9.8 percent of intercollegiate athletes as minority students. Although the figure represents a modest increase since the first NCAA re-certification process in 1996, it is a disappointment to administrators whose efforts have not succeeded in making athletic teams more representative of the student population, more than 30 percent of which is composed of minorities.
"We as a department have to make more of a concerted effort to find more diverse student athletes," Director of Athletics and Recreation JoAnn Harper said Monday in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Dean of the College James Larimore agreed.
"I think it is an important thing for us to take a look at, to make sure there are not barriers to involvement in athletics and barriers to enrollment at Dartmouth that we ought to pay greater attention to," Larimore said.
According to the report, the lack of minority representation is being caused in part by the College's inability to attract recruited minority student athletes. Over the last eight years, between 17 and 40 recruited minority athletes applied for admission each year, and in some years, few if any "priority" minority athletes applied for sports such as football, basketball and track and field.
One explanation for the recruitment difficulties is "the particular combination of sports we field," Larimore said, citing squash as a sport that would attract more white students to Dartmouth.
"For example, up until the Tiger Woods phenomenon, there were a number of sports like golf that didn't involve as many students of color as other sports," Larimore said.
But the obstacles to minority recruitment may not be limited to athletics.
"The College in and of itself has difficulties attracting minority students to the school, let alone minority students who are also athletes," said Jaime Velez '03, a former member of the crew team.
Track team members Brian Hanley '05 and Ian Marcus '07, however, did not see a problem with minority recruitment and representation on their team.
"I don't think we've had problems getting minority recruitment. It usually gives them another point of access," Marcus said.
Still, they speculated that factors like the cold weather and lack of athletic scholarships at Dartmouth might contribute to less diverse teams. They said, however, that increasing diversity was less important to them than recruiting competitive runners.
"We just want the best people we can get," Marcus said.
Velez said he had a positive experience as a minority athlete on the traditionally white crew team.
"I loved my experience rowing, because of the time I spent on the water with my friends," Velez said.
Velez added that he was unaware of any incidents that have made minority athletes uncomfortable at Dartmouth.
"I've never heard of stuff that has happened that has made it difficult for them in their experience," he said.
Administrators fear that a lack of diversity on sports teams may limit the amount of interaction athletes have with students from different backgrounds.
"One of the worries is whether student athletes have the same opportunities as other Dartmouth students," Larimore said.
Velez agreed that a lack of interracial interaction is a concern, although he questioned the difference from other Dartmouth students' experiences.
"In the sense that usually students who are on teams hang out with their teammates ... I think that maybe initially it does have some effect on it -- negatively," Velez said. "Whether or not they were athletes or just a part of the student body, it would probably still be the same."
The report also identified a need to increase minority representation in the coaching staff, especially among football and basketball hires. The report touts the hiring of African American assistant football coach Robert Talley since the College's last NCAA re-certification, but the basketball coaching staff remains entirely white.
"We have to do a better job in having a more diverse administration and coaching staff," Harper said.
