The Declining Number of Black Head Coaches in College Football

During the 2008 season there were six black head coaches among the 120 colleges and universities involved in major college football. Blacks make up about 55 percent of all the football players on athletic scholarships at these schools.

Among the six black head coaches, three will not return in 2009. Ron Prince at Kansas State University and Tyrone Willingham at the University of Washington were not rehired. Sylvester Croom, the only African American to be a head football coach in the prestigious and once racially segregated Southeastern Conference, has announced his resignation.

But there is some good news. Mike Locksley, who was the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois, recently was named head coach at the University of New Mexico. This week, University of Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English was named head coach at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.