May 13, 2008

The George Mason athletics department was recognized for its efforts in the area of diversity as it was one of 10 schools nationally to earn the Diversity in Athletics Award in the category of African-American Graduation: Male Student-Athletes. The Award is presented on an annual basis by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University, in collaboration with the NCAA.

"The award is a tribute to the student-athletes who not only have put emphasis on succeeding on the playing field but also in the classroom, where the ultimate goal is to earn their undergraduate degrees," Athletic Director Tom O'Connor said. "The academic services staff and coaches should also be commended for their guidance and commitment in providing the support system to help our student-athletes reach their goals."

The Diversity in Athletics Award recognizes the NCAA Division I athletic departments that excel in the area of diversity. An independent research conducted under the direction of George B. Cunningham, PhD, for the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport in the department of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University.

The award winners are those that have achieved the highest total combined scores in the areas of diversity strategy, gender diversity of department employees, racial diversity of department employees, value and attitudinal diversity of department employees, graduation of African American male student athletes, graduation of African American female student athletes, gender equity compliance (substantial proportionality), and overall excellence in diversity.

Graduation rate data were collected from the NCAA website (www.ncaa.org) using the four-year average for each school. Graduation rates of student athletes were compared to persons from the same race in the general student body. This was done for both male and female African American student athletes.

For more information on the 2007-2008 Diversity in Athletics awards, please visit the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport website at http://lds.tamu.edu.