Examining the Inclusiveness of Intercollegiate Team Climate and Its Influence on Student-Athletes' Cross-Racial Interactions

We examined a student subgroup often absent from diversity research: student-athletes. We explored whether intercollegiate athletic teams are promoting an open and inclusive environment and whether creating such an environment leads to more frequent and more positive cross-racial interactions. Findings reveal that overall, coaches appear to be promoting open and inclusive environments within their teams. A more inclusive team environment was found to be a significant positive predictor of the frequency of student-athlete cross-racial interactions and student-athlete feelings about such interactions.