The Secondary Diaspora: Black Women in NCAA Division I Basketball

Iman Lathan

This Black feminist qualitative case study examines how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s internal mechanisms shape the Division I educational pathway as a secondary diasporic conduit for Black female basketball student-athletes amid the unprecedented popularity of Division I women's basketball. In so doing, I unravel how the neoliberal intercollegiate sports model engages, exploits, and disposes individuals descended from the African Diaspora to sustain its operations. The research delves into the NCAA as a neoliberal structure, akin to a secondary diasporic vessel, directing Black female student-athletes— descendants of the Black Atlantic Diaspora—to predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Employing Black feminism and a queer diasporic lens, this study unpacks how Black female ball players, coaches, and parents and caregivers/guardians perceive their roles, positions, and experiences within the confines of the NCAA's neoliberal structures. This research not only bridges the gap in NCAA, race, women, and sport research but also offers an innovative perspective on understanding the dynamics of people's movement and the influence wielded by modern institutions of higher education. The objective of my study is carried out by using semi-structured interviews, archival analysis, and a social media analysis of the NCAA Instagram account. Furthermore, by drawing upon Black feminism and a queer diasporic lens, this work provides a fresh perspective on comprehending the complexities of human mobility and the impact of contemporary higher education institutions.

About Iman Lathan

Iman Lathan is a PhD Candidate at the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education and a Southern California native. As a former Division I collegiate basketball athlete, her personal and professional experiences in higher education and collegiate athletics deeply inform her interdisciplinary research at the intersections of Black feminism, athletic capitalism, media studies, and higher education. Her dissertation, The Secondary Diaspora: Black Women in NCAA Division I Basketball, offers insight into the future direction of her scholarship, as it creatively weaves together theory, oral histories, and archival research to interrogate the entanglements of identity, capitalism, and educational pathways among athletes across diverse sporting contexts. Lathan's work not only centers Black women's voices in sport but also contributes to broader discourses on racial and gendered capitalism, representation, and educational equity. Her research has implications for media practices, policy reform in college athletics, and the support systems designed for student-athletes. Beyond her research, Lathan is committed to mentorship, public scholarship, and expanding access to critical conversations within and beyond academia. She aims to continue this work in both academic and community-engaged spaces, using scholarship as a tool for liberation and systemic change.