The organization Black Coaches & Administrators released its first Hiring Report Card for NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball today, and awarded A grades to 11 of the 19 universities studied. The report grades institutions that replaced head coaches of their women’s teams in the 2007-8 hiring season on their efforts to recruit and hire minority candidates. Four of the institutions earned B’s, three earned C’s, and one, which did not turn in any data for the study, was awarded an F.
The report states that a record number of minority candidates — seven African-American coaches, including six women — were hired for the 19 positions. But in a foreword to the report, Paul Hewitt, president of Black Coaches & Administrators, notes that the number of minority women serving as head coaches in women’s basketball has steadily declined for a decade. “While this year we have had an increase, the overall trend has certainly been disturbing,” he wrote.
The report was produced by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, at the University of Central Florida. Richard E. Lapchick, director of the institute, told the Associated Press that the record number of minority women hired for this season “was a positive beginning” as it indicated that colleges were paying more attention in the hiring process. —Charles Huckabee
