Top 10 of 2010: Providence College and Race

Email to a friend Permalink

Monday, December 27, 2010

GoLocalProv Sports Team

In 2010, a series of ugly incidents relating to the Providence College Men’s Basketball program raised series issues about sports, race and the integration of African-Americans at the Smith Hill college.

A GoLocalProv 360˚ investigation found that Providence College had by far the fewest minority students of any school in its conference, the Big East.

For PC Basketball, these incidents came rapid-fire and tarnished a portion of the school's rich legacy of basketball success. The small Catholic school in the Northeast has repeatedly shocked the sports world by sending teams deep into the NCAA tournament for the past half century.

For the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island, “Friar Town” is the local pro team. But the events of the Spring of 2010 raised serious questions about priorities, race and the future success of the storied program.

As GoLocal 360˚ investigation reported: Providence College is a private Catholic institution with a total enrollment of about 5,300 students. Of that 5,300, 90 are of African-American descent. That’s 1.7%. The number of African-American male students is only 39.

As recently as 2007, a study by the U.S. Department of Education revealed that 13.1% of all college students were black. Clearly a big discrepancy.

In the fall of 2010, PC Men’s Basketball was back at its winning ways and as recently as Saturday it received more good news with the signing of one of America’s top recruits – local star, Ricardo Ledo. Yet, the question remains - will PC transform its racial composition or continue to be a place primarily for white students and primarily for black athletes.