The most recent NCAA research on race and gender demographics in college and university athletics departments shows that the percentage of females in administrative positions has increased by 8.2 percent since the study was launched in 1995-96.

The same study reveals that men hold 56.4 percent of athletics administrative positions compared to 43.6 percent for women. The greatest increases for women have been in the positions of  business manager, graduate assistant, academic advisor and administrative assistant.

The report is one of three recently released. They are:

• The Study of the Ethnicity and Gender Demographics of NCAA Member Institutions’ Athletics Personnel
• The 2007-08 Race and Gender Demographics of NCAA Member Conferences’ Personnel Report
• The 1999-00 to 2007-08 NCAA Student-Athlete Race and Ethnicity Report

All three are currently available online at NCAAPublications.com.

The demographics report reflects ethnicity and gender information of athletics administrators and coaches at member institutions and includes data from every NCAA school. The study, which tracks coaches as well as administrators, found that the percentage of females coaching men’s teams has increased minimally (just .4 percent since 1995-96) while the percentage of females coaching women’s teams has declined by 4.3 percent. Similarly, for female assistants of men’s squads, the increase was 1.8 percent while the decrease for female assistant coaches of women’s teams was 6.4 percent.

The number of black athletics administrators increased only minimally in 2007-08, compared to 1995-96, continuing a trend in which increases for both black men and women administrators have been less than 4 percent since the report was first published. Black men realized the largest gains in the positions of promotions/marketing manager, intern, fund-raiser/development manager and faculty athletics representative. Black women registered the biggest advances in the academic advisor, promotions/marketing manager, graduate assistant and assistant athletics director positions.

Black men and women head coaches have increased since 1995-96. Black coaches in all divisions and in both revenue and nonrevenue sports experienced gains, with the exception of the Division I Football Bowl and Football Championship Subdivisions, both of which have had decreasing percentages since 1995-96.

Assistant coach data for Divisions I and II reflect small jumps in ethnic minority representation since 1995-96, but the percentage of black assistant coaches has been static in Division III during the same span.

Conference demographics

The report regarding conference personnel shows the percentage of black staff members increasing by just 1.2 percent (including historically black conferences) since 1998-99, the first year such data were compiled. Female staff members enjoyed a 2.7 percent jump to 36.1 percent.

Job categories with the highest percentage of black staff members in 2007-08 were student assistant (80 percent) and assistant director (19.6). For black administrators, the position with the largest percentage gain since 1998-99 was associate commissioner, with an increase of 6.3 percent to 14.6. A 4 percent decline for blacks at the assistant commissioner level (13.5 percent) during the same period may be attributed to the increase at the associate commissioner position.

Jobs with the highest percentage increase of females at NCAA conferences were commissioner and associate commissioner. From 1998-99 to 2007-08, both positions realized a 10.6 gain (from 7.4 to 18 percent and 28.3 to 38.9, respectively).  

Division III registered a 3 percent increase in blacks holding positions in conference offices, the largest gain among all three divisions from 1998-99 to 2007-08. Notably, the percentage of blacks at the commissioner level jumped from 2.6 percent to 10.3 percent during the same period.

Division II led all divisions with the biggest increase in the percentage of female conference staff members from 1998-99 to 2007-08 (from 20.6 percent to 29.3 percent). Division I reflected a slight 1.2 percent increase for both black and female conference staffers from 1998-99 to 2007-08.

Student-athlete ethnicity report

A third study, the 1999-00 – 2007-08 NCAA Student-Athlete Race and Ethnicity Report, includes statistical data on the race and ethnicity of student-athletes at NCAA member institutions.

Similar to past years, the highest percentages of NCAA student-athletes were white males and females, at 72.2 and 78.9 percent, respectively. Black student-athletes – both males and females – registered the second-highest percentages at 18.5 and 11.3 percent, respectively. Likewise, in all three divisions, the percentages of male and female white student-athletes were the highest, followed by black male and female student-athletes.

Whites produced the highest percentage of football student-athletes, followed by blacks. Blacks, however, were more prevalent on FBS rosters (47.5 percent) with whites at 45.1 percent. In the Division I FCS and in Divisions II and III, white student-athletes make up the largest percentage of football student-athletes, followed by black student-athletes. 

For the first time since the report has been compiled, black females made up the highest percentage of Division I women’s basketball student-athletes (50.1 percent), followed by white female student-athletes (42.6). Black males registered the highest percentage of men’s basketball student-athletes (60.4), while white student-athletes made up the second-highest percentage at 32.6.

Although the highest percentages of male and female student-athletes in Division II were white (65.2 and 75.8 percent, respectively), the percentages of black male and female student-athletes rose 4.7 and 2.5 percent, respectively, to 24 and 13.1 percent from 1999-00 to 2007-08.

In Division III, the highest percentages of male and female student-athletes were white. The next highest percentages of student-athletes – male and female – were black; however, those percentages increased by 1.6 and 1 percent to 9.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, between 1999-00 and 2007-08.

Overall, the sports with the highest percentage of black male student-athletes are basketball, football and outdoor and indoor track and field. For black females, the sports with the highest percentages are bowling, basketball and outdoor and indoor track and field. The same sports registered the highest percentages of black male and female student-athletes in Divisions I and II and for Division III men. However, in Division III, basketball and rugby were the women’s sports with the highest percentages of black females.