Whites Still Hold a Disproportionate Number of Head Coaching Positions in College Sports

The latest report on the status of women and racial and ethnic minorities in college sports has been released by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.

The scorecard gave a grade of B for racial diversity in college sports programs. This was the same grade received last year but it is up from a C+ three years ago

Despite progress being made in many areas, Richard Lapchick, director of TIDES and the lead author of the report, stated that “it is unsettling to see that White people still dominate the head coaching ranks. For the 2019-2020 collection of data, 85.3 percent of Division I, 86.2 percent of Division II, and 89.6 percent of Division III men’s coaches were White. On the women’s side, White people comprised 82.5 percent, 85.0 percent, and 89.5 percent in Divisions I, II, and III, respectively.”

Among the highlights of the report regarding African Americans in college sports are:
  • In Division I, African Americans make up 53.2 percent of the male student athletes in basketball and 44.6 percent in football, but Blacks are only 4 percent of the baseball student athletes.
  • Blacks are 44.6 percent of the football players in Division I but only 8.1 percent of the head football coaches.
  • African Americans are 9 percent of all head coaches for men’s teams and 8.8 percent of head coaches for women’s teams in Division I. The percentage of Black head coaches is significantly lower in Divisions II and III.
  • Blacks are 22.7 percent of the head coaches for men’s basketball in Division I. In the 2005-06 season, African Americans were 25.2 percent of all head coaches for men’s basketball in Division I.
  • African Americans make up 41.9 percent of student athletes in Division 1 women’s basketball. Blacks are 19.3 percent of the head coaches of women’s basketball teams in Division I.
  • African Americans are only 1.1 percent of all head coaches in Division I baseball.
  • Blacks are 10.4 percent of athletic directors at Division I institutions. African Americans have far lower representation among athletic directors at Division II and Division III colleges and universities.

 

Related Articles

5 COMMENTS

  1. No kidding. Anyone with an inkling of intelligence and minimal vision can easily see White males holding the overwhelmingly majority of the head coaching positions. If TIDES really wanted to conduct a serious study they should have examined the correlation between the number of Black head coaches at Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs) and having a White spouse.

  2. Richard Lapchick’s impolitic comment should remind us that nothing good can come from bean counting and rigid quotas.

    When selection and hiring decisions are governed by an expectation that outcomes must be “proportional,” politics makes a mockery of merit.

    • Once again, ewart (lowercase ‘e’ intentional) has a deep seated case of Cognitive Dissonance and a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. ewart’s dimwitted commit is indicative of years of miseducation even with degree. ewart, you need to stick with commenting on jerk chicken, plantains and conch fritters.

  3. Michael.

    You seem to know more about jerk chicken and conch fritters than I do.

    I’m guessing you love the Caribbean, although you’re not so keen on Caribbean immigrants who move to the U.S.. Make sure you visit Grace Bay in the Turks & Caicos Islands — one of the great beaches in the world. Stay at the Club Med if you want to keep your costs down.

  4. Hey ewart (lower case ‘e’ intentional),

    It’s called being well-traveled. Regarding Turks & Caicos, I was not too impressed because the colonial White Dutch mentality is running rampant that it’s borderline nauseating. Actually, the same applies to rest of the Caribbean with the only difference is who is the colonial master. Let’s be clear, persons of your ilk have the same mentality with the only difference is that you’re in the great USA.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Nikki Giovanni, 1943-2024

Nikki Giovanni was a professor at Virginia Tech for 35 years. She was the author of numerous poetry collections, children's books, and works of nonfiction.

Kentucky State University Creates a New Pathway to Bachelor’s Degrees for Local Nurses

Kentucky State University has created a new RN-to-BSN pathway for students who have graduated from Elizabethtown Community and Technical College's nursing program. The program will provide eligible students with a tuition-free college education.

In Memoriam: Whittington Johnson, 1931-2024

In 1970, Dr. Johnson made history as the first Black tenured professor to be hired by the University of Miami, where he taught for the next three decades.

Featured Jobs