Jun 9, 2010 8:39:02 AM

The NCAA has invited 15 football coaches and 15 athletics directors to attend the NCAA Champions Forum that facilitates networking opportunities between potential candidates and hiring decision-makers.

The NCAA Champions Forum is June 22-24 in Anaheim, California, in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention. The forum is the top tier of the NCAA's Coaches Academy programs. Participants in the Expert Coaches Academy were announced June 7.

The goal of the Champions Forum is to link the coaches with athletics directors who can provide insight on their hiring philosophies and be a bridge to their colleagues who one day may have vacant coaching positions at their universities. The 15 football coaches were identified as among the most experienced football coaches in the NCAA who have expressed an interest in being a head coach at an NCAA college or university. 

The Forum includes one-on-one meetings, mock interview sessions and keynote speakers.  

"The Forum provides football coaches an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the thought process of an athletics director and the intricacies of hiring football coaches for intercollegiate programs," said Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion. "In turn, the athletics directors will have opportunities to meet, interact with and become better acquainted with the football coaches, and help with their continued career growth."   

Before the 2009 football season, there were nine ethnic-minority head coaches among the 119 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools. However, a total of 15 minority head football coaches were hired in 2009-10. Of the coaches who have been invited to the NCAA Coaching Academy programs over time, 18 have secured head coaching positions in college football. However, of the 582 football programs in Divisions I, II and III (excluding historically black colleges and universities), only 5.7 percent are coaches of color.

Though the NCAA does not have hiring authority over its member colleges and universities, the national office provides programming that better prepares coaches for many of the issues they will experience at the head coaching level. In addition to the Champions Forum, the NCAA also offers the Future Coaches Academy for student-athletes who want to learn more about the coaching field. In addition, the Football Coaches Academy is offered for those with less than eight years of experience.

The Champion Forum coaches were selected by a committee of former NCAA athletics directors and coaches, including Paul Dee, former athletics director at the University of Miami (Florida); Marino Casem, former athletics director at Southern University; Andy Geiger, former athletics director at Ohio State University; Lloyd Carr, former head coach at the University of Michigan; C.M. Newton, former athletics director at the University of Kentucky; and Tyrone Willingham, former head coach at the University of Washington.

Football Coaches selected for the NCAA Champions Forum:

• Robert Anae, offensive coordinator, Brigham Young University
• Timothy Banks, defensive coordinator, University of Cincinnati
• Marion Hobby, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator, Duke University
• Aaron Kelton, head coach, Williams College*
• Curtis Luper, recruiting coordinator/assistant football coach, Auburn University
• Garrick McGee, offensive coordinator, University of Arkansas
• Tyrone Nix, assistant head coach, University of Mississippi
• Heishma Northern, assistant head coach, Prairie View A&M University
• Jay Norvell, assistant offensive coordinator, University of Oklahoma
• Brian Norwood, defensive coordinator, Baylor University
• Kenneth O'Keefe, offensive coordinator, University of Iowa
• Jason Phillips, offensive coordinator, University of Houston
• Paul Randolph, senior associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator, University of Tulsa
• David Shaw, offensive coordinator, Stanford University
• Alexander Wood, defensive coordinator, Wayne State University

*Kelton, formerly the defensive coordinator at Columbia University, was hired as head coach at Williams May 17.

Athletics Directors selected for the NCAA Champions Forum:

• Michael Alden, University of Missouri
• Kevin Anderson, U.S. Military Academy
• Craig Angelos, Florida Atlantic University
• Mike Bohn, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Jon Carey, Western Oregon University
• Greg Christopher, Bowling Green State University
• Cary Groth, University of Nevada, Reno
• Dan Guerrero, University of California, Los Angeles
• Jeff Hathaway, University of Connecticut
• Paul Krebs, University of New Mexico
• Warde Manuel, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York
• Lew Perkins, University of Kansas
• Garnett Purnell, Wittenberg University
• Keith Tribble, University of Central Florida
• Kevin White, Duke University