Racial Stacking in College Football: A Microcosm of American Racism

Open Access
- Author:
- Halstead, Sarah E
- Area of Honors:
- African and African American Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Paul C Taylor, Thesis Honors Advisor
Clemente K. Abrokwaa, Thesis Supervisor - Keywords:
- racism
college football
racial stacking
discrimination - Abstract:
- The purpose of the study is to investigate the practice of racial stacking, or the placement of players in certain positions based on their race, in Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football teams. The objective is to determine whether the practice exists, and if so, the factors which contribute to its existence. The study hopes to examine several factors including the public or private nature of the school, the coaching staff’s racial composition, the size of the school, and the conference in which the school plays, and their impact on the extent of the practice of racial stacking that occurs at the 120 Division I FBS colleges and universities. College football in the United States was not fully racially integrated until the mid-1970’s, hence all-white teams have existed a mere 40 years ago. The issue of race continues to be a pertinent problem on many teams, especially in the South, as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) was the last to integrate. Although the days of violent racial clashes in sports are officially and legally over, racism still exists in sports but has taken a more subtle and unspoken form, particularly in the practice of racial stacking. This is a process whereby Black players are generally selected for positions considered peripheral or “non-thinking positions” and their White counterparts are often given positions that are more central to the team, or considered to be “thinking positions.”