NASHVILLE Tenn.
University of Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher has hired a football coach, men's basketball coach and women's basketball coach in the past 16 months. What she wanted in candidates couldn't have been clearer.
"I think the athletic director knew not even to bring the pool to me until it was representative," Zimpher said Friday during a discussion on diversity at the NCAA convention.
"You're not going to get anywhere unless you can reflect our leadership. ... Leadership matters, and presidential leadership in choosing the athletic leadership can make all the difference."
NCAA president Myles Brand has made no secret of his determination to get football sidelines and athletic administrators to look more like the rest of the country, and he used his position Friday to focus the second day of the NCAA convention on the topic of diversity.
An override vote on eliminating text messaging by coaches to recruits will come Saturday, and athletes had the chance Friday to work on a frame for a Habitat for Humanity house.
But the convention's second day started with a 3 1/2-hour symposium on helping women of color advance into administration, coaching and athletic fields.
Then they moved to lunch where Brand served as moderator for a panel discussion on diversity with Zimpher; Gene Smith, the Ohio State athletic director who is Black; and William Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.
Brand asked if college officials are doing as well as they can. But he talked to The Associated Press last month about his frustration over slow progress, especially in college football, which has only six Black coaches and two other minorities for a total of eight out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision.
"Quality people available are not getting a chance," Brand said.
Using the need for a quick hire to avoid recruiting losses is an excuse to Smith.
A big step is ensuring that minority coaches at least get interviews, and Smith called it an injustice when such candidates don't even get into the room to present themselves. He agreed that presidents can make the difference.
