National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Presidents' Forum - Hiring in athletics - Division I perspective - Broader pool, better splash
Since Kansas State University hired Ron Prince as its head football coach in December 2005, the university has been recognized for diversity in hiring.
Our athletics department, led by Athletics Director Tim Weiser, was recognized with the Diversity in Athletics Award presented by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University. Kansas State’s athletics department was one of just eight nationally to be lauded for its diversity strategy and one of nine to be singled out for its compliance with Title IX.
Shortly after receiving that award, Tim Weiser testified before the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection in Washington, D.C. He represented both Kansas State University and the Division I-A Athletics Directors’ Association at the hearing, which focused on the lack of diversity in leadership positions in intercollegiate sports.
Kansas State has received a great deal of positive attention for diversity since hiring Ron Prince, one of only five black head coaches in major-college football.
Many people have asked me how our university managed to find such an outstanding black football coach — and about our procedures for doing so.
My answer is simple. Like the Nike slogan says, “Just do it.”
Here are the steps we took:
Know what you want in a candidate;
Be inclusive and cast a wide net; and
Be persistent in pursuing those individuals you think will fit your institution.
We wanted to find someone who would be a good role model, as coach Bill Snyder (Prince’s predecessor) had been, and would continue on with the traditions and values and character that exemplify Kansas State football.
We wanted to be inclusive in our search and make it as broad as possible to provide Kansas State with the best possible leader for the Wildcat football program.
So, Tim Weiser, along with senior members from the university administration and athletics department, started looking for likely candidates.
We wanted someone who would be a good fit and who possessed the ability to win championships.
We knew that good assistants often rise to the top of their professions when promoted to head coaching positions. That was the case with Bill Snyder at Kansas State and Roy Williams at Kansas. It has been with many other successful head coaches as well.
Our first attempts to contact Ron Prince did not work out. We almost had to take the search to the next individual. Once we had the opportunity to interview Ron, we were delighted and inspired by the individual we found.
Thus, an important message is to be persistent.
We kept hearing great things from Ron and about him. He is a humble man who is caring and who genuinely believes in the good in people — especially in young people. Ron is the son of a noncommissioned U.S. Army officer who was raised in Junction City, Kansas, just 15 miles from the Kansas State campus.
He told us he had waited his whole life for the opportunity to be Kansas State’s head football coach. He was sincere. Not every coach out there has that same kind of passion to be Kansas State’s head coach. It is easy sometimes to lose sight of that.
He did an incredible amount of research about our roster and our recruiting class. He knew where the players came from, how many were still at Kansas State from the original signed class, and how many were starting.
In about a 24-hour period he put together a plan for reinvigorating Kansas State’s football fortunes. He was without question the best prepared of all the candidates.
When we interviewed Ron we could see that he had the organizational ability, the ability to hire outstanding assistant coaches and that he definitely wanted the job.
Kurt Caywood, a sportswriter for the Topeka Capital Journal, said the bottom line in Kansas State’s decision to hire Ron Prince was more about his BlackBerry than about his black skin. He is in tune with our young players. Ron got the job because he has the intellect, integrity, experience and ability we wanted in our head coach.
He was, in other words, a great fit for Kansas State.
To move forward to improve diversity in the head coaching ranks will require continued effort by the NCAA, college presidents, athletics directors and the coaches themselves. We need to cast a wide net when hiring to be sure that all qualified, talented individuals are considered for every opening.
Tim Weiser has suggested providing more networking opportunities to allow qualified individuals to become more widely known for consideration, as has become the practice in the National Football League. Additionally, legislation to provide financial incentives for those NCAA member institutions who employ minority head coaches and athletics directors could be drafted for adoption by the NCAA. Tim’s suggested “diversity incentive” would reward those who seek to improve and grow the current pool of minority head coaches and athletics directors.
This is a vital issue and one that must be addressed by all colleges and universities.
Jon Wefald is president at Kansas State University.
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By Jon Wefald
Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Since Kansas State University hired Ron Prince as its head football coach in December 2005, the university has been recognized for diversity in hiring. Our athletics department, led by Athletics Director Tim Weiser, was recognized with the Diversity in Athletics Award presented by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University. Kansas State’s athletics department was one of just eight nationally to be lauded for its diversity strategy and one of nine to be singled out for its compliance with Title IX.
Shortly after receiving that award, Tim Weiser testified before the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection in Washington, D.C. He represented both Kansas State University and the Division I-A Athletics Directors’ Association at the hearing, which focused on the lack of diversity in leadership positions in intercollegiate sports.
Kansas State has received a great deal of positive attention for diversity since hiring Ron Prince, one of only five black head coaches in major-college football.
Many people have asked me how our university managed to find such an outstanding black football coach — and about our procedures for doing so.
My answer is simple. Like the Nike slogan says, “Just do it.”
Here are the steps we took:
Know what you want in a candidate;
Be inclusive and cast a wide net; and
Be persistent in pursuing those individuals you think will fit your institution.
We wanted to find someone who would be a good role model, as coach Bill Snyder (Prince’s predecessor) had been, and would continue on with the traditions and values and character that exemplify Kansas State football.
We wanted to be inclusive in our search and make it as broad as possible to provide Kansas State with the best possible leader for the Wildcat football program.
So, Tim Weiser, along with senior members from the university administration and athletics department, started looking for likely candidates.
We wanted someone who would be a good fit and who possessed the ability to win championships.
We knew that good assistants often rise to the top of their professions when promoted to head coaching positions. That was the case with Bill Snyder at Kansas State and Roy Williams at Kansas. It has been with many other successful head coaches as well.
Our first attempts to contact Ron Prince did not work out. We almost had to take the search to the next individual. Once we had the opportunity to interview Ron, we were delighted and inspired by the individual we found.
Thus, an important message is to be persistent.
We kept hearing great things from Ron and about him. He is a humble man who is caring and who genuinely believes in the good in people — especially in young people. Ron is the son of a noncommissioned U.S. Army officer who was raised in Junction City, Kansas, just 15 miles from the Kansas State campus.
He told us he had waited his whole life for the opportunity to be Kansas State’s head football coach. He was sincere. Not every coach out there has that same kind of passion to be Kansas State’s head coach. It is easy sometimes to lose sight of that.
He did an incredible amount of research about our roster and our recruiting class. He knew where the players came from, how many were still at Kansas State from the original signed class, and how many were starting.
In about a 24-hour period he put together a plan for reinvigorating Kansas State’s football fortunes. He was without question the best prepared of all the candidates.
When we interviewed Ron we could see that he had the organizational ability, the ability to hire outstanding assistant coaches and that he definitely wanted the job.
Kurt Caywood, a sportswriter for the Topeka Capital Journal, said the bottom line in Kansas State’s decision to hire Ron Prince was more about his BlackBerry than about his black skin. He is in tune with our young players. Ron got the job because he has the intellect, integrity, experience and ability we wanted in our head coach.
He was, in other words, a great fit for Kansas State.
To move forward to improve diversity in the head coaching ranks will require continued effort by the NCAA, college presidents, athletics directors and the coaches themselves. We need to cast a wide net when hiring to be sure that all qualified, talented individuals are considered for every opening.
Tim Weiser has suggested providing more networking opportunities to allow qualified individuals to become more widely known for consideration, as has become the practice in the National Football League. Additionally, legislation to provide financial incentives for those NCAA member institutions who employ minority head coaches and athletics directors could be drafted for adoption by the NCAA. Tim’s suggested “diversity incentive” would reward those who seek to improve and grow the current pool of minority head coaches and athletics directors.
This is a vital issue and one that must be addressed by all colleges and universities.
Jon Wefald is president at Kansas State University.
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