What Are We Saying by Saying so Little? Mission Statements, Diversity Mission Statements, and NCAA Programs

Prior research has analyzed the purpose and composition of athletic mission statements, but no prior work has moved beyond athletic mission statements and toward athletic diversity mission statements. Specifically, this study sought to understand the prevalence of both athletic mission and diversity mission statements and how National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) programs address diversity in both types of statements. Through a content analysis of 250 NCAA websites from both public and private institutions, this study found 62% of institutions published an athletics mission statement on their institutional website, while only 11.6% published diversity mission statements. Linguistic analyses suggest mission statements largely focus on students and speak of diversity in terms of women and gender, while diversity mission statements focus on both students and coaches and speak of diversity in terms of women, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Implications for research, practice, and equity and diversity in NCAA programs is addressed.