1. ACTION
ITEM.
a.
DIVISION I ONLY
– Discuss the Lack of Head Coaches in Division I Football.
(1) Recommendation. The Minority Opportunities and
Interests Committee (MOIC) believes that it is important to discuss the lack of
minority head coaches in Division I Football with the Division I Board of
Directors. Thus, the MOIC requests
time with the Board of Directors during its Summer 2002 meeting so that several
MOIC committee members can discuss this issue with the Board of Directors.
(2) Rationale. The lack of diversity of college
football coaches, particularly at the Division I-A level, has received intense
media coverage in the past several months. There have already been several well-publicized articles
regarding the possibilities of recruits choosing an institution based on the
diversity of the football coaching staff.
The MOIC believes it has a responsibility to inform the Division I Board
of Directors, and the Association as a whole, of the consequences of inaction
regarding this issue. The
Association must be prepared for significant pressure from the media and
external organizations, such as the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Black
Coaches Association, if progress is not made in this area. It was not too long ago that various
individuals threatened a boycott to address issues regarding diversity in men’s
basketball. The MOIC believes it
is extremely important that the Association begin to engage this discussion
prior to this issue reaching a crescendo.
In
addition, the committee has engaged in recent research efforts to address
diversity in coaching, including focus groups conducted at the American
Football Coaches Association annual convention and the NCAA Convention, and opinion
surveys. The data and analysis
compiled by the NCAA research staff will be useful in developing
recommendations for the Division I Football Study Oversight Committee.
(3) Budget Impact. Travel costs for two committee members
to attend a portion of the summer Board of Directors meeting.
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
a.
2002 NCAA Convention. The committee reviewed the Association-wide convention sessions regarding
race and gender issues and noted there was a broad range of topics and strong
attendance for the sessions.
The
committee agreed issues of diversity should be included in the menu of topics
for future education sessions and will forward topics for the 2003 Convention
to national office staff for consideration.
b.
NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement
Internship Program. The committee discussed the
recruitment process for the Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Internship
Program, which included first-time outreach to students through undergraduate
and graduate sports administration programs and career centers. As a result of these efforts,
internship applications increased by 58 percent. The committee noted national office staff will select the
2002-03 intern class by mid-March.
c.
Review of NCAA Diversity Education. In preparation for introducing advanced diversity
education workshops addressing race, gender and sexual orientation during the
2003 NCAA Convention, the committee reviewed proposals from three consulting
firms selected as finalists to develop and conduct the sessions. Each firm provided an in-person
presentation to selected MOIC and Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) members
to further detail the proposed content and design of the workshops and to
introduce the project team. Upon confirmation of reference checks, the
committee awarded the development contract to Critical Measures/Full Circle
Diversity.
d.
Review of the Use of American Indian Mascots in
Intercollegiate Athletics. The committee reviewed research
materials regarding the use of American Indian mascots in intercollegiate
athletics. The committee noted an
integral part of the committee’s examination of the issues will be the
compilation of comments/testimonials from those directly impacted by the
review. The committee drafted
language for an executive summary to accompany requests for comment to the
following groups: American Indian
tribes; current student-athletes (through the national Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee); the NCAA membership; and entities within the NCAA governance
structure (specifically the Sportsmanship and Ethnical Conduct Committee, the
Division I Championships and Competition Cabinet, and the Division II and
Division III Championships Committees).
The committee also updated the timetable to submit its report to the to the Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues in October 2002, consistent with the subcommittee’s revised meeting schedule.
e. DIVISION I
ONLY – Review of Athletics Certification. The committee agreed to forward a
proposal to highlight institutions that meet and exceed expectations for
minority opportunities plans. In
an effort to determine the range of details identified in minority
opportunities plans, the committee agreed to request the Athletics
Certification Committee to provide sample plans from institutions that have
been identified as certified, certified with conditions and not certified. The committee agreed it was not
necessary for institutions to be identified by name.