Much attention has been devoted to the need for and importance of racial diversity in society. Studies have been conducted in business and industry which indicate that racial diversity is a positive attribute that contributes to success and positive performance. In intercollegiate athletics, racial diversity has been lauded as a desirable goal to be achieved (Chang, 1999; Cunningham and Fink, 2006). The purpose of this study was to examine racial diversity as it affects team performance with respect to men`s and women`s basketball teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and their respective coaching staffs between the years 2005 and 2009. The race of each player and coach in the study was determined by an examination of online media guide photos. This system of identification was used by Yetman and Berghorn (1993), Bodvarsson & Banaian (1998), Timmerman (2000), and Weiss and Sommers and (2008). The Hefindahl-Hirschman index (HHI), a common measure used in studies of industrial concentration and market structure was employed as a statistical model. The HHI was used by Weiss and Sommers (2008) in their study of racial diversity and winning in the National Basketball Association. The HHI measures the homogeneity of a population and accordingly, the lower the HHI score, the more heterogeneous the population becomes. The findings of this study indicated that while there was not a significant relationship between coaching staffs and winning percentage, there was a trend demonstrated between women`s teams and winning percentage. A significant relationship was found, however, between men`s teams and winning percentage, with respect to racial diversity. It is critical that administrators and the NCAA understand that the values of diversity must be applied to all segments of athletic departments, including the student-athletes. Accordingly, athletics administrators and coaches should consider the benefits of not only having a diverse staff of employees but also a diverse and inclusive population of student-athletes as members of the teams which represent their institutions.
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