The NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC) agreed to move forward with an online employment database to help ethnic minorities and women obtain coaching and athletics administration positions and agreed to explore the creation of a leadership institute for ethnic minority females during its January 26-27 meeting in Indianapolis.

In addition, in a joint meeting with the Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA), the committees developed a letter to the Executive Committee expressing concern over the lack of emphasis on diversity in the NCAA strategic plan. In the letter, the committees specifically request that the Association make a clear commitment to diversity in the plan and that diversity initiatives will continue to receive appropriate levels of funding (see related story above).

The MOIC focused much of its work during its meeting on an online employment database featuring the names, vita and reference information for ethnic minority and women coaches and administrators. The database would serve as a resource for NCAA member institutions interested in identifying ethnic minorities and women in all areas of intercollegiate athletics administration and coaching. Committee members stressed the database would be strictly informational and they emphasized that ap- pearance on the list would in no way be an endorsement by the MOIC or the NCAA.

The committee also discussed plans to explore the establishment of a program for ethnic minority female administrators. The proposed institute would follow the same format currently used in the successful NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males. Eugene Marshall, director of athletics at Ramapo College and chair of the committee, said that female administrators also are in need of developmental opportunities.

"The institute has provided vital professional development opportunities for ethnic minority males and also has fostered a network among those who have completed the 12-month program," Marshall said. "We recognize that ethnic minority women need and deserve the same types of developmental experiences, and we look forward to being able to provide them with such a key opportunity in the near future."

In other actions, the committee established a timeline for its subcommittee on American Indian mascots to create the self-analysis checklist and any accompanying correspondence that will be forwarded to select member institutions. The committee hopes to submit a draft of the checklist to the Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity before its August meeting with a final version to be sent out to institutions by September of this year. Institutions will be asked to respond before September 2005.

The MOIC also continued to seek information on the status of diversity among intercollegiate sports officials. Emi Vishoot, a volleyball official with USA Volleyball, and Mary Struckhoff, a current women's basketball official and an assistant director with the National Federation of State High School Associations, provided the committee with information on the process and requirements for becoming officials in their respective sports, available career opportunities and suggestions on how to promote officiating as a career option to student-athletes.

The MOIC noted that the advanced session of the NCAA Diversity Education program, which was developed jointly with CWA and rolled out in 2003, will travel to 41 campuses this year and impact 1,300 student-athletes, coaches and administrators. The committee also noted that there were 10 sessions of diversity training offered at the 2004 NCAA Convention, up from four held during last year's Convention.