Are more female A.D.'s needed?
I got an e-mail this week from a p.r. firm regarding a book called “The Grass Ceiling — Gender Bias in Sports.”
The subject is why only 10% of athletics directors nationwide are women.
That doesn’t surprise me. I haven’t met many. But I do know this: Norma Carr at Salt Lake Community College has been wonderfully successful, with several teams being ranked nationally. The men’s basketball team even won the 2009 national championship. The Bruins have won region championships in softball, volleyball and baseball.
NORMA CARR, DOING THE FOOTWORK
A story published at the University of Missouri themaneater.comsays nearly 40 years after Title IX was instituted, only five of 120 Division I athletics directors are women.
That should change. While A.D. jobs used to go to retired or fired mens coaches, nowadays they often go to PhD’s with backgrounds in fund raising, business and marketing. I’m sure there are increasing numbers of women with those qualifications.
One problem for women aspiring to be athletics directors is that once they get hired, can they get cooperation from the other 115 A.D.’s, who are men?
I’m guessing they can. At the same time, it can produce controversy. This isn’t necessarily gender related, but former Maryland A.D. Debbie Yow certainly made news in her position.
What do you think? Are there few women A.D.’s because there aren’t many qualified candidates? Or does the good old boy system still prevail in athletics? Is there any difference in the way a female A.D. approaches the job?