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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Data show few hiring gains for Blacks
Progress remains slow for leadership positions in athletics
Progress remains slow for leadership positions in athletics
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By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
NCAA member institutions continue to struggle with racial and gender diversity in athletics administration and in head and assistant coaching positions, according to the most recent report on the demographics of athletics personnel at NCAA institutions.
Data from the 2005-06 biennial study show that overall, black representation in athletics administrative roles has increased only minimally since 1995-96, the baseline year of the research. Although the percentage of African-American administrators overall has increased slightly, that boost is not reflected in decision-making positions such as athletics director or associate or assistant ADs. Rather, the largest gains are in the positions of facilities manager, administrative assistant and business manager.
Figures for all institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, show the percentage of black ADs rose less than 1 percent in comparison to 2003, the last time the analysis was completed. The mark of 7.9 percent also represents a slight increase over 1995-96 baseline data. Excluding HBCUs, only 3.5 percent of ADs are black.
Blacks made modest gains in the area of associate athletics directors overall, moving from 8.1 percent in 2003 to 9 percent in the most current study. Division II registered the largest gain in the category — from 3.5 percent in 2003 to 10.4 percent. For assistant ADs in all divisions, the overall percentage of African-Americans increased a little more than 1 percent to 9.8, compared to 2003 statistics.
Black women saw the most advancement in the roles of graduate assistant, academic advisor, senior woman administrator and intern. Overall, there was a 1.3 percent jump in the percentage of senior woman administrators to 10.4 percent (including HBCUs) compared to 1995-96 data. That figure also outpaced the 2003 data by a little more than 1 percent. Division I institutions generated the largest increase at 7.4 percent. In Divisions II and III, the percentages decreased by less than half a percentage point from 1995-96. However, the percentage of African-American senior woman administrators in Division II increased by more than 3 percent to 14.7, compared to 2003.
The percentage of black head coaches for men’s and women’s teams overall for all institutions (including HBCUs) remained unchanged from 2003 at 8.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, but remain slightly ahead of baseline figures of 7.6 and 7.5 percent. The largest gains were made in the category of black coaches of Division I men’s revenue sports (football and basketball) at 4.5 percent, including HBCUs. Those percentage increases are similar when excluding HBCUs, as well.
The percentage of African-American assistant coaches overall also remained stagnant. At 15.5 percent and 12.1 percent for men’s and women’s teams, respectively, including HBCUs, assistant coaches of men’s and women’s teams rose just .4 and .6 percent compared to figures from 1995-96.
The figures related to the diversity of athletics administrative and coaching personnel aren’t proportional to the number of black student-athletes competing at the Division I level. African-American student-athletes accounted for 20.2 percent of the total student-athlete population in the 2005-06 study, up nearly a percent from 2002-03.
Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion, called the latest findings “sobering” and said the results should prompt the Association’s leadership to take action. Westerhaus pointed to U.S. census data that reflects the nation’s growing ethnic diversity, also demonstrated in the college student population, but not in the leadership of intercollegiate athletics.
“If you look at the growth of student-athletes of color who are involved in NCAA athletics, the big takeaway from this report is that the growth is not being reflected in the numbers of individuals who are either choosing or receiving the opportunity to become assistant or head coaches, directors of athletics and senior woman administrators,” said Westerhaus. “There appears to be a ceiling that is preventing growth, and there is a need for some salient answers and effective action to remedy this.”
The overall response rate dipped from 96.8 percent in 1995-96 to 74.2 percent in the latest study. Consequently, the percentages were calculated using a slightly different base. Despite the sagging response rate, the NCAA research staff, which is responsible for generating the report, stressed that the trends reflected in the percentages are robust enough to be meaningful.
Other significant changes in the 2005-06 study include the elimination of tables that show the counts of individuals in various positions. Job turnover and the decreased response rate made those figures imprecise, and generally, they were inaccurate by the time the report was released. The new percentages offer a more accurate representation of ethnic and gender breakdowns, regardless of the lower response rates.
To address the sliding response rate, however, the national office research and membership services staffs have teamed to streamline data collection. Beginning this year, survey data previously requested by research for the race and gender demographics study will be incorporated into the sports-sponsorship form, which each institution is required to fill out to be eligible for championships competition. Because of the championships-eligibility implications tied to the sports-sponsorship form, legislative action was required in all three divisions to combine the data-collection efforts. The legislation passed in Divisions II and III and is currently proceeding through the governance structure in Division I.
Michelle Vaughn of the NCAA membership services staff said combining the data-collection effort could significantly increase the potential for 100 percent participation in the race and gender study.
Vaughn said the expanded form will take more time to complete but will lead to a more informative report that includes data that are not only more accurate but more timely, since they will be collected annually. Combining the reports also will lead to less confusion between the form and the survey, which looked similar, requested some overlapping information and at one time shared the same name, Vaughn said.
“We hope people find the report valuable enough to contribute,” she said. “We’re only as good as the data provided. If institutions provide good data, we can provide good resources.”
The revised sports-sponsorship form is due August 15 and is accessible beginning this month.
Data from the 2005-06 biennial study show that overall, black representation in athletics administrative roles has increased only minimally since 1995-96, the baseline year of the research. Although the percentage of African-American administrators overall has increased slightly, that boost is not reflected in decision-making positions such as athletics director or associate or assistant ADs. Rather, the largest gains are in the positions of facilities manager, administrative assistant and business manager.
Figures for all institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, show the percentage of black ADs rose less than 1 percent in comparison to 2003, the last time the analysis was completed. The mark of 7.9 percent also represents a slight increase over 1995-96 baseline data. Excluding HBCUs, only 3.5 percent of ADs are black.
Blacks made modest gains in the area of associate athletics directors overall, moving from 8.1 percent in 2003 to 9 percent in the most current study. Division II registered the largest gain in the category — from 3.5 percent in 2003 to 10.4 percent. For assistant ADs in all divisions, the overall percentage of African-Americans increased a little more than 1 percent to 9.8, compared to 2003 statistics.
Black women saw the most advancement in the roles of graduate assistant, academic advisor, senior woman administrator and intern. Overall, there was a 1.3 percent jump in the percentage of senior woman administrators to 10.4 percent (including HBCUs) compared to 1995-96 data. That figure also outpaced the 2003 data by a little more than 1 percent. Division I institutions generated the largest increase at 7.4 percent. In Divisions II and III, the percentages decreased by less than half a percentage point from 1995-96. However, the percentage of African-American senior woman administrators in Division II increased by more than 3 percent to 14.7, compared to 2003.
The percentage of black head coaches for men’s and women’s teams overall for all institutions (including HBCUs) remained unchanged from 2003 at 8.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, but remain slightly ahead of baseline figures of 7.6 and 7.5 percent. The largest gains were made in the category of black coaches of Division I men’s revenue sports (football and basketball) at 4.5 percent, including HBCUs. Those percentage increases are similar when excluding HBCUs, as well.
The percentage of African-American assistant coaches overall also remained stagnant. At 15.5 percent and 12.1 percent for men’s and women’s teams, respectively, including HBCUs, assistant coaches of men’s and women’s teams rose just .4 and .6 percent compared to figures from 1995-96.
The figures related to the diversity of athletics administrative and coaching personnel aren’t proportional to the number of black student-athletes competing at the Division I level. African-American student-athletes accounted for 20.2 percent of the total student-athlete population in the 2005-06 study, up nearly a percent from 2002-03.
Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion, called the latest findings “sobering” and said the results should prompt the Association’s leadership to take action. Westerhaus pointed to U.S. census data that reflects the nation’s growing ethnic diversity, also demonstrated in the college student population, but not in the leadership of intercollegiate athletics.
“If you look at the growth of student-athletes of color who are involved in NCAA athletics, the big takeaway from this report is that the growth is not being reflected in the numbers of individuals who are either choosing or receiving the opportunity to become assistant or head coaches, directors of athletics and senior woman administrators,” said Westerhaus. “There appears to be a ceiling that is preventing growth, and there is a need for some salient answers and effective action to remedy this.”
Data collection to ease with joint approach
Data from the latest race demographics study were gleaned from a survey distributed electronically to all 1,054 NCAA member institutions. Until recently, institutions’ participation in the study has been voluntary, and as a result, the figures for 2005-06 are based on a total of received forms different from the 1995-96 baseline sample.The overall response rate dipped from 96.8 percent in 1995-96 to 74.2 percent in the latest study. Consequently, the percentages were calculated using a slightly different base. Despite the sagging response rate, the NCAA research staff, which is responsible for generating the report, stressed that the trends reflected in the percentages are robust enough to be meaningful.
Other significant changes in the 2005-06 study include the elimination of tables that show the counts of individuals in various positions. Job turnover and the decreased response rate made those figures imprecise, and generally, they were inaccurate by the time the report was released. The new percentages offer a more accurate representation of ethnic and gender breakdowns, regardless of the lower response rates.
To address the sliding response rate, however, the national office research and membership services staffs have teamed to streamline data collection. Beginning this year, survey data previously requested by research for the race and gender demographics study will be incorporated into the sports-sponsorship form, which each institution is required to fill out to be eligible for championships competition. Because of the championships-eligibility implications tied to the sports-sponsorship form, legislative action was required in all three divisions to combine the data-collection efforts. The legislation passed in Divisions II and III and is currently proceeding through the governance structure in Division I.
Michelle Vaughn of the NCAA membership services staff said combining the data-collection effort could significantly increase the potential for 100 percent participation in the race and gender study.
Vaughn said the expanded form will take more time to complete but will lead to a more informative report that includes data that are not only more accurate but more timely, since they will be collected annually. Combining the reports also will lead to less confusion between the form and the survey, which looked similar, requested some overlapping information and at one time shared the same name, Vaughn said.
“We hope people find the report valuable enough to contribute,” she said. “We’re only as good as the data provided. If institutions provide good data, we can provide good resources.”
The revised sports-sponsorship form is due August 15 and is accessible beginning this month.
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