White Property Interests in College Athletic Admissions

Abstract

Dominant cultural narratives position college sports as engines of racial integration and upward mobility. Previous studies examined the chances for low-income men of color becoming athletes in two sports: men’s football and basketball. While highly visible, these athletes represent the minority of participants. The majority of college athletes are White and middle class. In this conceptual article, I apply Cheryl Harris’ whiteness as property framework to identify the institutional conditions that prevent college sports from functioning as integrative and mobility engines and instead protect Whites’ privileged access to higher education via sport.