Recommendations for attracting and retaining women of color in intercollegiate athletics will be distributed to the Association’s governance structure later this summer.

The recommendations, which focus on recruitment/career development, hiring, professional development and retention/sustaining the pipeline of talent, emerged from a May 7-8 Women of Color Symposium at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis. The event included about two dozen athletics administrators, coaches and academics. The symposium was made possible through a matching grant awarded by the NCAA to the Black Women in Sport Foundation.

The symposium was prompted by numbers from the 2005-06 NCAA Ethnicity and Gender Demographics of NCAA Member Institutions’ Athletics Personnel showing that ethnic minority women make up just 1.6 percent of directors of athletics (including historically black colleges and universities) across all three NCAA divisions. The percentage drops to .7 when HBCUs are excluded.

The report also indicates that, excluding HBCUs, the highest percentage of females of color are clustered in the categories of life skills coordinator (10.2 percent), academic advisor (10.2 percent), graduate assistant (9.8 percent), administrative assistant (8.7 percent), business manager (6.4 percent) and intern (8.3 percent).

While specific recommendations and strategies were not immediately available at the symposium’s conclusion, a few broad themes emerged from the day and a half of discussion.

One overarching question centered on who has ownership and accountability of issues affecting women of color in athletics. Answering that question, participants felt, is critical to achieving progress. Although multiple NCAA committees and other organizations are dedicated to women and ethnic minorities, the group noted that there is no such organization specifically for women of color, with the exception of the BWSF, whose primary focus is on African-American women.

The consensus was that a central body would not only elevate the visibility of women of color and provide leadership on critical issues affecting women administrators and coaches of color but also help unify women of color, advocate on their behalf, and provide important networking and professional development opportunities.

The group acknowledged that getting to that point is a long-term proposition that is made tougher given the difficult economic climate. In the meantime, though, participants agreed that  organizations such as the NCAA, BWSF, National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and even coaching associations fill some of that void while also providing and expanding important professional development programming.

The group also lobbied for enhanced efforts around connecting women of color with high-ranking athletics department and university representatives responsible for hiring decisions. In recent years, the NCAA and affiliated groups have purposefully increased networking opportunities of top coaches of color with athletics directors, presidents and search firms as part of a strategy for diversifying the ranks of head football coaches. Applying a similar model could help boost retention and advancement of women coaches and administrators of color in the industry.

Participants also stressed that any recruitment efforts must extend well beyond current college students and student-athletes to incorporate youth and should include a focus on the variety of jobs available in college athletics besides coaching.

Tina Sloan Green, BWSF co-founder and president, affirmed the organization’s commitment to support and enhance opportunities.

“The symposium was a success,” she said. “We had all these great minds in one room with one common goal: We were all passionate about increasing diversity and supporting women of color.”

Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion, said now is the time to advocate for women of color.

“The time is right for not only discussions but changes to enhance the position of women of color because of what is happening in our overall society,” said Westerhaus. “There’s been a convergence of social, political, collegiate and global changes that provide a foundation for positive change for women of color in intercollegiate athletics.”

Symposium participants included:

• Beverly Kearney, head women’s track and field coach at Texas
• Carolayne Henry, associate commissioner at the Mountain West
• Sharon Yee, a researcher at Arizona State
• DeLores Todd, athletics director at North Carolina A&T
• Sharon Clark, head women’s volleyball coach at Butler
• Lori Ebihara, assistant commissioner at the Big 12
• Miechelle Willis, senior associate athletics director at Ohio State
• Sharon Beverly, athletics director at Vassar
• Monique Morgan, associate commissioner at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• Gloria Nevarez, senior associate athletics director at Oklahoma
• Deitre Collins-Parker, head women’s volleyball coach at San Diego State
• Carol Owen, head women’s basketball coach at Northern Illinois
• Nikki Franke, head women’s fencing coach at Temple
• Sheila Ward, associate professor in the department of health, physical education and exercise science at Norfolk State
• Lynnore Lawton Thames, ABC News
• Michael Horsey, managing partner at Mitchell & Titus, an accounting and financial services firm
• Linda S. Green, a professor of law at Wisconsin
• Cassandra W. Jones, president and CEO of Next Step Associates, an educational consulting firm