Diversity Hiring: Famine in the Midst of Hiring

Don't get me wrong.

The work to ensure the civil rights of significant groups of American citizens is never done. There will always be issues that must be addressed and addressed aggressively. Most often through neglect but not infrequently as the result of prejudice and malevolence, the rights of minorities to the full range of benefits assumed by the majority are nearly always at risk.

And yet, I can say that in my lifetime enormous progress has been made.

I was a college student and young faculty member in the 1960s and early 1970s when the right to eat in any restaurant, the right to drink from any fountain, the right to sit somewhere other than at the back of the bus, the right to live in any neighborhood you could afford, the right to enter through any door was being denied to African-Americans. People of color were forced to fight -- sometimes in the streets -- for their basic civil rights.

By then, the U.S. Supreme Court had declared that public elementary and secondary education must be open to all. By then, Jackie Robinson -- a hero of mine as a youngster growing up in Brooklyn -- had already broken the color barrier in professional baseball. And by then, young men of color were beginning to impact college sports on a few campuses.

Indeed, the integration of intercollegiate sports was not insignificant to the integration of the entire campus. The doors to higher education throughout the nation were opening to students of color in part because there were already open to student-athletes of color.

Over the last three and a half decades, we have seen the numbers of African-American student-athletes swell to more than half in football and men's basketball. We have seen the number of African-American head coaches in men's basketball increase to 35 percent.

We have seen great progress. There is increased opportunity.

Ironically, what we have not seen is any progress in the hiring of African-American head football coaches in intercollegiate athletics. In fact, we are losing ground. With firings this fall, there are, as of this date, only four black head football coaches among the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision programs in NCAA Division I.

In the entire history of Division I football, excluding the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, there have only been 23 African-American head coaches, never more than eight at any one time, and now there are only four.

Five years ago, I suggested to the Black Coaches Association (BCA) that the solution was in addressing the hiring process. If we could get more coaches of color into the interviewing process, the natural result would be more hires. The BCS instituted its Hiring Report Card, and it was a success. The interviews for African-American candidates increased dramatically to more than 30 percent of the total. But the number of hires remains embarrassingly low. There are lots of openings for head coaches, but there is famine in the midst of plenty when it comes to African-Americans.

There are those who continue to believe the answer is more interviews and call for a collegiate version of the NFL's Rooney Rule that mandates at least one minority interview in every search. Given the success already of the BCS report card to increase such interviews, instituting the Rooney Rule for college sports would be tantamount to calling for more deck chairs while the ship is sinking.

What we need are more hires, not more disingenuous interviews. In fact, focusing on the interviews at this point tends to hide the real problem.

I am frustrated that impassioned calls for change are not working. I am frustrated that pleas to recognize the necessity for fairness are not heeded. I am frustrated that in the midst of progress in so many other areas, higher education and intercollegiate athletics continue to exercise a hiring practice in college football that is embarrassing and simply would not be tolerated elsewhere on campus.

What is going on? What about college football keeps coaches of color out of the top leadership positions? If African-American coaches can take NFL teams to the Super Bowl and win, why are there not the same opportunities in college football?

We cannot ignore the lessons of history forever. Eventually, those who are being denied access will fight for the benefits that are simply assumed by others.

Blame will be laid bare.

Comments

[Abby L. Ferber - Huffpost Blogger]

It is very telling that so many of the comments immediately launch into an attack on affirmative action. Affrimative action is never even mentioned in this blog! How did white men become the victims here??? I have commented more fully in my blog today.

[teembee]

I wish the author would have told us in the article EXACTLY how many black head coaches there should be. I would like to hear a precise number.

[Mnemanth]

If you're qualifed for the job, you get the job. If you're not qualified, you don't.
Affirmative action is cr@p. Hiring according to statistics is cr@p.
There's no perfect answer, unfortunately, but making anyone hire according to these programs? I'd just as soon close the position as hire someone who can't do the job!

[dajuice7]

The ignorance shown in this thread regarding the lack of opportunities for minority coaches is astounding. 4 black head coaches in Div 1 which is comprised of nearly 120 schools is shocking. Given most football coaches come from a playing background, blacks make up a significant percentage of players and a significant percentage of assistants, why are there so few being given the opportunity to run a program?

Affirmative Action, when properly implemented, does not push out more qualified candidates. It gives opportunity to minorities, who may be more qualified or just as qualified as their white counterparts, who are often overlook based on their ethnicity. Black assistants have been lining up for decades only to be denied the chance to lead Div 1 programs because school ADs and Presidents are afraid to put blacks in charge of their cash cows. The few who have gotten opportunities are put on extremely short leashes (Ty Willingham), or get stuck at small schools while their white peers are promoted time and time again.

When you exclude qualified minorities from the pool of potential coaches, you aren't selecting from a group of the most qualified candidates.

[Eyewideopen]

It's clear AA is being given to unqualified white coaches, most of whom have never played the game.

[Curdleberg]

Obsessing over racial breakdowns is so over. It's a new era with Obama about to be President - we can finally quit talking about race.

[PazPraSempre]

Because Obama as PE magically makes all race relations perfect and equal?
Just like that, everyone's past prejudices, assumptions, ideas, beliefs about each other and themselves are wiped clean and replaced with the idea that stereotypes don't exist and that we are all brothers and sisters?
You are mistaken.
It's people like you who think that we are in a postracial society that need the conversation about race the most.

[Proditor]

The absurdity of this article is astounding. In the real world affirmative action hires push out more qualified candidates every day. The counter argument is simple: why not have diversity among the athletes? Why shouldn't a team's makeup reflect the population as a whole? Your receipts would drop through the floor, but at least you would have diversity. I believe MLK suggested we look at the content of the character, not the color of their skin. Let's hire the most qualified person for all available positions and move forward as a Contry.

[Mnemanth]

Thank you. Excellent point.

[Eyewideopen]

Prove it. Or did you just pull those AA stats from your a s s.

[Overd0g]

They all sucked. To not fire them would be racist.

[NoPCZone]

Why are we counting heads by color in 2008?

Shouldn't the jobs go to the best qualified coaches? Performance on the athletic field and classroom performance (Graduation Rate) in the classroom should be the criteria- not race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity or whatever.

While we are discussing the NCAA, when will someone slap the SEC (Southeastern Conference)- the major conference that excels everywhere BUT in the classroom? The easiest way to scare a SEC Athlete is to throw a textbook at them. What ever happened to the Scholar-Athlete? These SEC schools are little more than plantations where kids either do not graduate or get worthless degrees in Communications or the famous Sports Management- whatever that is. Lends a new meaning to the BS Degree.

The use of ill-prepared kids, largely of color, for sports at schools where they have little chance of getting a real education is the real scandal. When their eligibility is used up most will never get the chance to attend a University full time again.

These Universities have good academic programs for regular students and should clean up their act and put the scholar back in the scholar-athlete. The SEC is only the most egregious of the bunch.

[1murillo]

"Shouldn't the jobs go to the best qualified [fill in the blank]?"

No.

Does experience count? (Triple all Wall St. salaries because they are the most experienced. - sarcasm)

We know that recruiting works because we do it in many fields. Advertising, for instance, works. Until we admit that we support the myth of meritocracy, we'll improve only slightly as we spend trillions of dollars.

Think about our military, we don't get the most physically fit, best sharpshooting, combat-trained people around, we recruit widely and go from there.

It's convenient/ludicrous to adhere to the simple belief that people of color aren't represented in many fields because there aren't 'qualified' candidates.

It will be great when race can be overlooked, but we're far from there.

(Like that first job, "experience required," but we waste billions of workhours giving and getting experience.)

[MyNameIsJames]

No PC Zone-

Everyone is making money off the black athlete in college athletics.

Black college athletes put more White kids through school on athletic scholarships than any other force in college athletics.

The monies generated from star black athletes are what pays for about 100% of women's sports which have to be funded under Title XI. Furthermore-- those elite and nearly all -white sports such as tennis, rugby, rowing, gymnastics etc are also paid for by the huge television contracts of NCAA basketball and college football revenue.

Studies have shown that without Division 1 football and basketball, the vast majority of Division I college sports would have to be eliminated.

Furthermore, many college coaches are being paid millions of dollars and getting endorsements from shoe companies and other commercial sources.

Everyone agrees that the best qualified should be hired unfortunately, that is NOT how it works in the real world.

Black coaches are simply not hired in college football because of the good ol'boy system. We have seen this pattern before in so many aspects of American society.

Its interesting that you bring up. The SEC it is in the old SLAVE South right?

[Seattle34]

Your points are all well and good, but the black athletes need to spread the wealth around. Even Obama believes that. In college, since they aren't paid in money, they need to spread the wealth by subsidizing other teams.

Ditto in pro ball. I'd like to see Kevin Garnett's $24M/year salary watered down and given to the poor guys in the NBA only making $300 and $400K/year.

The basketball players are making more than most CEOs. In fact, there are only 45 CEOs in the ENTIRE COUNTRY that make more than Kevin Garnett.

I do wonder, though, if a team owner wants to win, and a certain black athlete is better than a certain white athlete, then no question the black athlete will win that role. That's as it should be.

But is your theory that when it comes to coaching that the owner no longer wants to win and will only hire a lesser qualified white coach over a black coach? If the black coach will ensure the team owner more wins, why wouldn't the team owner hire the black coach?

[ThePlainsman]

You have two coaching candidates with approximately equal won-lost records as head coaches in high school or division II or III. How do you determine which one is the "Most Qualified?" These decision aren't made on won-lost record alone, yet that is just about the only objective criteria to use. Most of the decision is SUBJECTIVE. Who would fit in best, ie. most likely continue and promote the culture, history, tradition of the university? This is a subjective decision, and subjective decisions are filled with bias.

99% of the people making these hiring decisions are white, so 99% of the coaches getting hired are also white. Considering that experience in football is a valid criterion, and that most of the players are black, it's kind of suspicious that so few blacks get hired for the top job.

I'm willing to bet that if 99% of the people making hiring decisions are black, we'd likely see evidence of similar bias.

Hiring a football coach is a lot about comfort level, which is very subjective. Whites are naturally more comfortable with other whites, blacks with other blacks. That's why affirmative action (not Affirmative Action) is necessary to counteract our natural tendencies as human beings.

[TommyMcCarthy]

I couldn't miss a chance to congratulate President Brand on his fine work at the NCAA.....and to thank him for his time as President of the University of Oregon.

Duck fans nationwide know that the process that transformed the UofO from " TheOregon who?"
to a national power in all sports began during Brand's tenure.

Lesser known, but perhaps MORE signifigant is the fact that this process occurred not only without lowering academic standards for student athletes but while actually enhancing them..as well as while dramatically improving women's programs in all sports, enhancing opportunities for minorities at the U..and in every way helping to make the UofO the world-class institution, both athletically and academically, that it is today.

Many people know that President Brand is a scholar and an innovator.....in Eugene we remember that he's a great guy!!

Highest Regards
tm

[Motorinstructor]

Martin Luther King Jr said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Let us all keep on pressing on toward this goal.

[MyNameIsJames]

That means-- that qualified black coaches should be hired right?

In this nation the usual pattern is that QUALIFIED Blacks are NOT hired until there is significant pressure put on from outside the given institution or industry.

That IS the history of how these things work. Did you know that?

MLK words are great, but MLK was all about putting pressure on the status quo until it BROKE open for those who had been left out.

[Motorinstructor]

MyNameIsJames, of course you are right! Color blind means color blind; period.

[Tiradrex]

Exactly why affirmative action programs were instituted in many circles...in th first place

If people and institutions did the fair thing without it being mandated as a law this would not be necessary.

This is just another hurdle that blacks and other minorities will over come

[fignozzle]

ARE overcoming.