More than half of the 30 NCAA Divisions I-A and I-AA schools included in the second annual Black Coaches Association (BCA) Hiring Report Card earned a grade of "C," "D" or "F" for the processes used to hire head football coaches.

There were 23 Division I-A head coaching positions available in Division I-A and seven open at the Division I-AA level in 2004-05.

Describing the hiring report card as "an instrument of accountability," BCA Executive Director Floyd Keith said the latest results, which were released during a November 9 teleconference at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, were worse than those captured in the inaugural report that was issued last year. He also said that if results do not improve by next year, legal action may be imminent.

The most recent version of the report card revealed that 17 of the 30 schools received a final grade of "C" or lower. More specifically, seven institutions earned "Cs," five were awarded "Ds" and five others, including two that did not participate in the evaluation, earned a grade of "F."

Overall, five "As" were awarded to schools, all of which were affiliated with Division I-A, and eight institutions, including one Division I-AA school, received "Bs."

In comparison to last year, Division I-A garnered the same number of "As;" however, in Division I-AA, that number fell two spots to zero. There also was a decline in the number of "B" and "C" grades and an increase in "Ds" for Division I-AA, while Division I-A experienced increases in the numbers of "Bs," "Cs" and "Fs."

Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion, commended the five schools that earned "As" and reaffirmed the Association's commitment to working with the BCA on the issue.

"The NCAA is committed to supporting the BCA in putting together this report card because of one simple, but important reason: The NCAA core values state that we are committed to increasing the number of career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds," said Westerhaus.

Westerhaus noted that it was important to highlight the schools that received "As" and encouraged close scrutiny of those institutions' best practices. She emphasized that those schools were, numerically, in the minority. Westerhaus described the overall situation as appalling, but felt confident that the NCAA could "turn the corner" on the issue.

"This corner has to be turned quickly, effectively and efficiently, and the NCAA wants to do everything it can to make sure that corner is turned," she said.

Schools were evaluated in five categories to determine the final grade: (1) communication with the BCA and/or the chair of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC), (2) number and composition of the hiring/search committee, (3) the number of candidates of color officially interviewed, (4) the duration of the search process and (5) the institution's adherence to its affirmative action policy.

As part of the report's executive summary, C. Keith Harrison, lead author, principal investigator and director of the Paul Robeson Research Center for Academic and Athletic Prowess, noted that two of the categories -- number and composition of the hiring/search committee and adherence to the institution's affirmative action policy -- yielded significant findings. Harrison, who also is a teacher and researcher at Arizona State University, reported that 147 individuals participated in the 30 searches included in the study. Forty-three of the search committee participants were ethnic minorities.

Results revealed that for each person of color who was included on the search committee, the number of ethnic minority candidates interviewed increased by 1.45, regardless of division. In addition, for each contact an institution had with the BCA and/or the MOIC, the number of minority candidates interviewed increased by two.

"What this tells us is that diversity and inclusion have an effect," said Keith. "For Divisions I-A and I-AA schools, affirmative action grades are not up to par, as 17 of 30 schools have 'C,' 'D' or 'F' grades in that category."

Keith said the coming year will be the third and final year of the BCA's commitment to the hiring report card as it relates to NCAA Divisions I-A and I-AA head football coaches. He said that if the next year's numbers mirror those of the past two years, then it will most likely mean the BCA needs stronger accountability measures, including potential legal action.

Currently there are three black head football coaches of 117 at the Division
I-A level, and just one of 118 in Division I-AA.

In light of the current composition of football's head coaching ranks, Keith encouraged potential NCAA student-athletes and their parents to pay close attention to the 2003-04 and 2004-05 report cards.

"I sincerely hope recruits of color and their parents will weigh the results of the 2004 and 2005 hiring report cards and make attendance decisions with strong consideration given to the grades earned by respective institutions," he said.

Within the next year, the BCA plans to expand the hiring report card to apply to women's basketball and NCAA administrative positions, including directors of athletics and conference commissioners.

For more information

To view the complete BCA Hiring Report Card, go to www.bcasports.org.