INDIANAPOLIS - The head of the Black Coaches and Administrators group called Wednesday for more involvement by college presidents in hiring football coaches, a move he said would lead to more minority coaches on the sidelines.
Floyd Keith, executive director of the group, believes it's the best option to make changes quickly.
After releasing the group's latest hiring report card Wednesday, Keith said he was willing to listen to any ideas, including a possible lawsuit, to improve numbers that show nine of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools have minority head coaches.
"Today, I believe the one group that can change this situation outside of state and or federal legislation is college presidents," he said. "Presidents can create and demand the proper environment and process for equitable searches. In the equation of the collegiate hiring process, a college president is the one individual who can demand justice in the search process."
Keith said last year the BCA was actively seeking someone to file a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII legislation. On Wednesday, he said the group's legal hotline is still fielding two to three calls per week, looking for the right case.
Schools with coaching vacancies are graded in five categories: communication with the BCA, length of the search, ratio of minority candidates who were interviewed, adherence to the school's affirmative action policies and percentage of minorities on the search committee. Point values are assessed in each category and are added together to come up with a final point total, which is then translated into an overall grade.
