UMass Professor Nicole Melton Receives Grant to Study How to Make College Ice Hockey More Inclusive

AMHERST, Mass. – A $25,000 grant from the Carnegie Initiative (CI) to study how to make college ice hockey more inclusive and accepting has been awarded to Nicole Melton, associate professor and associate department chair of the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Melton, who is co-director of the Laboratory for Inclusion and Diversity in Sport (LIDS), is among the first to receive a research grant from CI, an organization named in honor of legendary hockey player and social justice pioneer Herb Carnegie, which was launched last year to ensure opportunity and access to hockey everywhere. An identical grant for $25,000 CAD was also awarded to the Toronto Metropolitan University to examine “New Frontiers: Assessing Equity, Acceptance, and Belonging Programming in Canadian Hockey.”

“We are beyond thrilled to receive the CI USA 2022 grant,” Melton said. “The purpose of the project is to connect with college hockey programs throughout the country and assess their program’s climate for inclusion. Over the next year, we will survey athletes, coaches and support staff to understand what factors lead to feelings of belonging and acceptance and what factors may inhibit inclusion. We will use the data to create evidenced-based solutions for programs that want to enhance their cultures and ensure hockey is a sport for everyone.”

Ted Fay, co-director of LIDS, will join Melton in the study. Melton and her team will take part in the 2023 CI Summit to present their findings to date.

CI was co-founded by Bernice Carnegie and Bryant McBride and works in conjunction with leading academic institutions to accelerate the work started by Herb Carnegie more than 50 years ago when he launched his first hockey school in Toronto to make hockey more diverse and inclusive. CI awards grants to academic institutions to study the issues facing the sport of hockey and the underrepresented constituents it means to serve.