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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Study shows gender discrepancy in coaching ranks
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By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Researchers at the Center for Sport Management at Texas A&M University, College Station, have conducted a study showing that women are much more likely to be hired as assistant coaches than head coaches in selected women’s sports.
The study published in the academic journal “Sex Roles,” included data from more than 3,200 NCAA teams in Divisions I, II and III sports, primarily in basketball, softball, volleyball and soccer — the four most popular team sports for women.
The work by researchers Mike Sagas, George Cunningham and Ken Teed shows that about 60 percent of those teams have one or more women as assistants, but only 50 percent of the head coaches in those sports are women. In some sports, such as soccer, only 33 percent of the coaches are female. In women’s basketball, women make up about 67 percent of the assistant coaching ranks but only 62 percent are head coaches.
Sagas believes that despite 30 years of Title IX implementation, women are still having trouble finding top jobs in athletics.
“The data clearly show there is still a ‘good-old-boy’ network out there, a mindset in which men would still rather hire other men as head coaches,” said Sagas. “Currently, the ‘good-old-girl’ network for women is less prevalent at the highest levels of athletics administration. So when it comes to being hired for the head job, men are more often hired.”
The Murray State University baseball team was traveling home late last month from a series at Samford University when junior outfielder Matt Scheer received a text message from his girlfriend, Alysson Nolte, a junior catcher on the Eastern Illinois University softball team. The Lady Panthers also were returning from weekend competition at Samford when the rear tires of their bus began smoking and caught fire, stranding team members along the side of the highway just outside of Birmingham, Alabama.
Scheer relayed the news to Murray State head coach Rob McDonald and athletic trainer Jon DeMarie, who immediately agreed to help. Conveniently, the Thoroughbreds were only about 10 miles behind.
The Murray State bus maneuvered alongside the two-mile backup caused by the disabled bus to pick up the Eastern Illinois softball team, and at the Lady Panthers’ request, transported them to a nearby truck stop, where they waited for a replacement vehicle.
“(The softball team) was stranded, and we were able to help by transporting them farther north,” said the Thoroughbreds’ McDonald. “It just seemed like the obvious thing to do.”
Eastern Illinois head softball coach Kim Schuette was grateful for the assist.
“We really appreciate them taking the time to help us out,” she said. “Not everyone would have done that, and it feels great when teams can come together like that.”
Participants from all Big South member institutions and future member Presbyterian College presented research proposals.
Big South student-athlete presenters included Virginia Military Institute soccer players Michael Lloyd (the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year) and Karen Bill. Coastal Carolina softball player Carla Hood also presented a paper.
Other speakers included Sandra Rosenthal, associate professor of chemistry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, and Michael Reese, assistant professor in the applied health science department at Indiana University School of Medicine.
The conference-sponsored symposium is modeled after the national conference on undergraduate research. Proceedings will be published later this year by the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
The study published in the academic journal “Sex Roles,” included data from more than 3,200 NCAA teams in Divisions I, II and III sports, primarily in basketball, softball, volleyball and soccer — the four most popular team sports for women.
The work by researchers Mike Sagas, George Cunningham and Ken Teed shows that about 60 percent of those teams have one or more women as assistants, but only 50 percent of the head coaches in those sports are women. In some sports, such as soccer, only 33 percent of the coaches are female. In women’s basketball, women make up about 67 percent of the assistant coaching ranks but only 62 percent are head coaches.
Sagas believes that despite 30 years of Title IX implementation, women are still having trouble finding top jobs in athletics.
“The data clearly show there is still a ‘good-old-boy’ network out there, a mindset in which men would still rather hire other men as head coaches,” said Sagas. “Currently, the ‘good-old-girl’ network for women is less prevalent at the highest levels of athletics administration. So when it comes to being hired for the head job, men are more often hired.”
League rivals make strange busfellows
The Ohio Valley Conference is among the most geographically proximate leagues in Division I, and while that closeness provides good rivalries, it also makes good neighbors.The Murray State University baseball team was traveling home late last month from a series at Samford University when junior outfielder Matt Scheer received a text message from his girlfriend, Alysson Nolte, a junior catcher on the Eastern Illinois University softball team. The Lady Panthers also were returning from weekend competition at Samford when the rear tires of their bus began smoking and caught fire, stranding team members along the side of the highway just outside of Birmingham, Alabama.
Scheer relayed the news to Murray State head coach Rob McDonald and athletic trainer Jon DeMarie, who immediately agreed to help. Conveniently, the Thoroughbreds were only about 10 miles behind.
The Murray State bus maneuvered alongside the two-mile backup caused by the disabled bus to pick up the Eastern Illinois softball team, and at the Lady Panthers’ request, transported them to a nearby truck stop, where they waited for a replacement vehicle.
“(The softball team) was stranded, and we were able to help by transporting them farther north,” said the Thoroughbreds’ McDonald. “It just seemed like the obvious thing to do.”
Eastern Illinois head softball coach Kim Schuette was grateful for the assist.
“We really appreciate them taking the time to help us out,” she said. “Not everyone would have done that, and it feels great when teams can come together like that.”
Big South Conference sponsors symposium
In an effort to expand on the league’s Academic Consortium, the Big South Conference sponsored the first Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium March 23-24 on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. More than 230 students participated, and several student-athletes were among the presenters.Participants from all Big South member institutions and future member Presbyterian College presented research proposals.
Big South student-athlete presenters included Virginia Military Institute soccer players Michael Lloyd (the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year) and Karen Bill. Coastal Carolina softball player Carla Hood also presented a paper.
Other speakers included Sandra Rosenthal, associate professor of chemistry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, and Michael Reese, assistant professor in the applied health science department at Indiana University School of Medicine.
The conference-sponsored symposium is modeled after the national conference on undergraduate research. Proceedings will be published later this year by the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
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