Almost No Progress in Increasing Blacks in Assistant Coaching Positions in College Athletics

Last week JBHE reported the snail-like progress over the past decade in increasing the number of black head coaches in college sports. But the progress has been even slower in assistant coaching positions.

According to data in a new report from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the percentage of black assistant coaches for men’s teams increased from 15.1 percent in 1996 to 15.5 percent in 2006. For women’s teams, the percentage of black assistant coaches increased from 11.5 percent to 12.1 percent.

There were wide differences in progress in increasing black assistant coaches depending on the particular sport. Only seven college sports showed an improvement in the period whereas14 college sports posted a decline in black assistant coaches.

In women’s basketball, the percentage of black assistant coaches increased from 20.7 percent to 25.9 percent in the 1996-2006 period. No other college sport showed an increase of greater than 2.1 percentage points.

Of the 14 college sports that showed a decline, the largest decreases were in men’s tennis and women’s golf. In men’s ice hockey, there were no black assistant coaches in either 1996 or 2006.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.