The Syracuse University athletic department must enact an official policy to ensure a diverse pool of candidates is considered when there are coaching vacancies. The department has a general practice to encourage diversity, but has no set requirement, according to SU Human Resources.

SU employs only one female head coach for its 18 men’s and women’s teams. A report published by Nunes Magician on June 30 found that SU’s athletic department has the lowest percentage of female head coaches for women’s teams amongst all colleges in the seven major conferences.

While there should not be a diversity requirement to meet when it comes to the hiring of head coaches, the current general practice must by formalized to guarantee an active search for diverse candidates.

The 9.1 percent employment of female head coaches comes after the resignation of softball head coach Leigh Ross in June. If SU hires a male to fill this vacancy, it will mark the seventh straight time the university has filled a head coaching vacancy for a women’s team with a man.

The arrival of Mark Coyle as the new athletic director on July 6 poses as an opportunity to change the reach of the hiring process when it comes to increased diversity in the applicant pool. By expanding the pool to ensure a variety of candidates apply, it is even more likely that the most qualified person would be selected for the position.

During Daryl Gross’ tenure as athletic director, SU hired a total of 15 new head coaches for men’s and women’s teams. Of those hires, only two were women. Twice during this time under Gross, the university hired men to replace women as head coaches for women’s teams.

Although the data range is small, the report found that SU has the second-lowest percentage of female head coaches for women’s teams among all schools that are either FBS programs in football or members of the Big East in basketball. Of the 138 schools in the study, only Louisiana Tech, which does not employ any female head coaches, has a lower percentage than SU.

The statistics at SU reflect a national trend, as the median percentage of female head coaches of women’s sports at universities is only 40 percent, according to NCAA research. The direction of the athletic department under Coyle will characterize where SU stands when it comes to ensuring a fair employment process that places an emphasis on reaching a wide variety of candidates.

Published on July 2, 2015 at 4:56 pm

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