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I hereby guarantee that no part of the research project which I have submitted for publication has been heretofore published an/or copyrighted in the United States of America,except in the case of passages quoted from other published sources; that I am the sole author and proprietor of said research project; that the research project contains no matter which, if published, will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the copyright of any other party; and that I will defend, indemnify and hold harmless Springfield College against all suits and proceedings which may be brought and against all claims which may be made against Springfield College by reason of the publication of said research project. Copyright @ 2004 Jeremy M. Deason SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES December 2004 We recommend that the --------------------------------------thesis prepared under our direction by Jeremy M. Deason entitled RACIAL INTEGRATION AND THE MODERNIZATION OF MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL be accepted as fulfilling the research requirement for the degree of Master of Science RACIAL INTEGRATION AND THE MODERNIZATION OF MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Springfield College In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Education by Jeremy M. Deason December 2004 ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Craig Poisson, Dr. John Gibson, and Dr. Thomas Carty for their assistance and support throughout the process. Their willingness to move quickly through the process was greatly appreciated. I would also like to thanks James Miller from the library for his help and expertise with the historical format and Chicago Style. Thank you to Coach Charlie Brock for his time and suggestions as the reader. A final thank you as well to Dr. Tracey Fogarty, Dr. Stevie Chepko, and Tyler Fleming for their insight at the beginning of the journey. I would also like to thank my family for their support during my experience at Springfield. Most importantly though, I would like to thank my wife, Cassie, for her love and devotion at all times, especially for the last year and a half. I certainly would not have been able to finish this experience without you. December 2004 J.M.D. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements. ii Abstract............................................. 2 Introduction. 3 Statement of the Problem. ....... ........ 9 Subproblems. 9 Delimitations........................... 10 Limi tations . 10 Definition of Terms..................... 10 Method and Procedures................... 11 Chapter 1. THE MODERNIZATION OF SPORT................... 15 E qu ali t y . 1 7 Rationalization......................... 20 2. THE BEGINNINGS OF BASKETBALL AND THE INTEGRATION OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL............ 24 The YMCA . 24 The Early years.......... 26 The Beginning of True Integration....... 31 Two Significant Games................... 35 3. THE INTEGRATION OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS IN THE SOUTH...................... .................. 39 Southern Schools........................ 40 The Southeastern Conference............. 42 4. THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK ATHLETES AT WHITE SCHOOLS .. 45 Standout Black Athletes. 45 North Texas State: A Test Case.......... 47 iv 5. SPORTS AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT......... 51 The Black Athlete in the 1960s . 55 Protests and Revolts.. 56 6. RACIAL PARTICIPATION, INTEGRATION, AND STACKING. 61 Participation and Integration........... 61 Stacking. 62 Unequal Opportunity..................... 65 7. THE PLAYERS INVOLVED......................... 71 Loyola of Chicago....................... 71 Texas Western and Kentucky.............. 74 8. CONCLUSION................................... 87 The Post Modern Game....... ............. 90 APPENDIX A . 93 NOTES. 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 100 Racial Integration and 1 Running head: RACIAL INTEGRATION AND BASKETBALL Racial Integration and the Modernization of Men's College Basketball Jeremy M. Deason Springfield College Racial Integration and 2 Abstract This study was designed to examine the integration of men's collegiate basketball as it relates to the modernization of college basketball. According to Allen Guttman, modern sports are distinguished by seven characteristics. The seven characteristics are secularism, specialization of roles, bureaucratic organization, quantification, recordkeeping, rationalization, and equality. Equality and rationalization were the two characteristics that college basketball lacked up until the 1960s and 1970s. College basketball coaches realized at that time that in order to have the best teams; they would have to be able to have the best players. In order to have some of the best players, the coaches then realized that they would have to recruit more than just white players. The rosters of some of the teams examined reflect the change In the recruiting of players in the 1960s by the more successful teams. Most of the key players on those teams were from large, urban areas, reflecting the fact that college basketball was moving towards a modern area, and that the game was moving back to the cities. Racial integration led directly to college basketball becoming a modern sport in America. Racial Integration and 3 Racial Integration and the Modernization of Men's College Basketball In 1979, Michigan State, led by star Earvin Johnson, took on Indiana State, led by Larry Bird, for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball championship. It was, and still is, the highest rated college basketball game ever to be broadcast on national television. 1 The game was a result of the changes taking place in college basketball: Terre Haute, IN, and Lansing, MI; Rural and Urban; Larry and Magic; old school and new school; White and Black. By 1991, 19 of the 20 starters on the final four teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball championship were Black. Television networks were paying millions of dollars to broadcast the rights to the NCAA tournament. Records were being set and broken each year in college basketball, and the NCAA had become the largest governing body in college athletics. All of that was a long way from the humble beginnings of college basketball in the early 1900s. As the century wore on, college basketball moved from a pre-modern sport towards a modern sport. The final step in securing the arrival of college basketball as a modern sport in America was the recruitment of Black athletes, a step which met the Racial Integration and 4 full rationalization of winning for many colleges and universities across the country. The recruitment of Black male basketball players for colleges and universities throughout the nation was a process that did not begin in earnest until the 1960s, and was not commonplace until the 1970s. Before the recruitment of Black athletes began, college basketball had yet to truly become a modern sport. According to Allen Guttman, modern sports are distinguished by seven characteristics. The seven characteristics include secularism, specialization of roles, bureaucratic organization, quantification, recordkeeping, rationalization, and equality.2 By the 1960s, college basketball had achieved the first five of those seven characteristics. The last two steps went hand in hand, as the recruitment of Black athletes coincided with rationalizing winning for many coaches. If the coaches could recruit the best players, many Black, those coaches would have the best teams. The process was not as easy as it seemed, however, and many coaches were extremely hesitant to take that final step. Black players were not recruited until the 1960s because of their skin color. Many coaches felt that the situation that Blacks would experience, especially in the Racial Integration and 5 South, would do them more harm than good. Some coaches did not recruit Blacks because they were worried about the abuse that Black players would receive at other arenas and coliseums throughout the country. A Black player would have to be the absolute best player and student to be considered to play in a top-notch college program. Also, most coaches recruited from their own geographical areas. Coaches at predominately White colleges did not even look to Black high school players until the 1950s. As Elgin Baylor, a National Basketball Association (NBA) star player and a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, remarked, " .. they didn't know anything about us. I went to the College of Idaho for the first year on a football scholarship."3 Nowhere were the signs of racial inequality more evident than in southern colleges and universities, who kept their fields and courts closed to Blacks until the mid 1960s and in some cases even later. Authors have long examined the pioneer Black athletes that first participated in intercollegiate basketball. A.S. "Doc" Young cited prejudice as the main reason that the integration of college basketba1+ occurred over such a lengthy period of time. 4 Oceania Chalk noted some of the early pioneers such as Paul Robeson, Wilbur Wood, and George Racial Integration and 6 Gregory, Jr. Many times, the Black athletes were some of the best on the teams they played on and competed against. The White press eventually began to give attention to Black athletes, but only to those that played on White teams. s Many times, the outcome of one specific game had a lasting effect on the integrity of college sports. Two important games that helped change that landscape of college basketball forever were in 1963 and 1966. Writer Bill Finger examined