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[msparticularity]

I am a former debate coach (of a nationally competitive team), and I'd like to weigh in on this since I have some firsthand perspective. I coached debate at the college level, with a joint appointment in a department of communication, for three years. (This came after several years of coaching high school debate). I was a continuing but non-TT faculty member, and actually had better security than some of my TT colleagues since there was no "up or out" for me.

I have a PhD, but it was in another field entirely (Education). What mattered was that I was experienced, and competitively successful. Even with no credits at all in comm, I was offered several other positions in comm departments, based entirely upon my ability to coach. They were not TT (due to my lack of academic credentials), but they were continuing and/or administrative faculty slots, so offered very good security if I had wanted to go that way. Debate is one of the few remaining fields where practical skills and success matter far more than the terminal degree.

There is a shortage of competent and qualified debate coaches; every year there are jobs that do not get filled. The reason is that, as you know, the schedule is pretty brutal :). Community colleges often support debate programs very strongly because they are perceived as being very important to a variety of careers, especially in business, due to the need for presentation skills. Aside from community colleges, SLACs tend to have the most stable commitments to debate programs, since they are good for pre-law and for the "well-rounded" person. In some areas, the CC jobs are TT even just with a  master's in comm, too--there were several in Northern California just in the past couple of years.

My vote is that you start looking for a debate gig somewhere that's closer to a university where you could get a PhD. I have a couple of former debate colleagues whose colleges actually subsidized their doctoral studies, in fact, so they could tenure them. This is the path a lot of them take so they can gradually move out of the demands of coaching and into full-time teaching as they get older. 

[gregthomas77]

My vote is that you start looking for a debate gig somewhere that's closer to a university where you could get a PhD. I have a couple of former debate colleagues whose colleges actually subsidized their doctoral studies, in fact, so they could tenure them. This is the path a lot of them take so they can gradually move out of the demands of coaching and into full-time teaching as they get older. 

1.  Closer to a PhD would be great.
2.  Subsidized by my employer would be perfect.

I just haven't seen any jobs like this.  Maybe I haven't looked in the right place.

[msparticularity]

My vote is that you start looking for a debate gig somewhere that's closer to a university where you could get a PhD. I have a couple of former debate colleagues whose colleges actually subsidized their doctoral studies, in fact, so they could tenure them. This is the path a lot of them take so they can gradually move out of the demands of coaching and into full-time teaching as they get older. 

1.  Closer to a PhD would be great.
2.  Subsidized by my employer would be perfect.

I just haven't seen any jobs like this.  Maybe I haven't looked in the right place.

Well, they won't be advertised like that. And I'll send you a couple of links by PM to sites that often have job listings. Your best source of information is going to be your colleagues, though.