Always the Bridesmaid and Never the Bride: Coaching in College Sports

Abstract

It has been well documented that Title IX opened up doors of opportunity for women to participate in sports at all levels. Similarly, players including Jackie Robinson and Sam “Bam” Cunningham paved the way for Black athletes to compete at all levels of sports.  It is equally well documented that the world of college sports is, by and large, the world of white men.  This paper examines the status of two “underrepresented groups” in college coaching and administration: women and Black men. Using Virginia as a case study, with references to NCAA data for comparison, our analysis reveals that despite increased participation for both women and Blacks, and the overall dominance of Black athletes in some sports, including basketball and track and field, in those same sports the majority of Black men and women are stalled at the ranks of assistant coach, never able to lead a team on their own, and never commanding the kinds of salaries associated with head coaches. Finally, the data in our case study demonstrate that football impacts opportunities for white women and Black men inversely.  Cautiously we conclude in this research note by revealing that football increases some opportunities for Black men and suppresses some opportunities for white women.