Research

Why more women coaches are needed:

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Prior to Title IX in 1972, over 90% of women’s collegiate sports teams were coached by women.

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Over 50 years later, for all three NCAA divisions, that number has decreased to 41% women head coaches of women’s teams. This means only 4 out of 10 NCAA women’s teams are coached by women. And women head coaches lead only 24% of the 20,255 total NCAA men’s & women’s teams.  

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Only 6% women head coaches lead NCAA men’s teams. Out of 9,291 total NCAA men’s teams head coaching opportunities, only 574 are led by women.  

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Women of Color head coaches lead 7% of NCAA women’s teams and only 1% of NCAA men’s teams. Out of 20,255 total head coaching opportunities for NCAA men’s & women’s teams, only 890 are led by Women of Color.  

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At the youth level, only 26% of youth sports head coaches were women in 2022, up slightly from 24% in 2019.

Women in College Coaching Report Card Series

WeCOACH and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport launched a series of collaborative, cutting-edge research initiatives to help increase the number of women in the coaching profession. The percentage of women coaching women’s teams at the collegiate level has declined from over 90% when Title IX was passed in 1972 to 43% and has remained stagnant over the past few decades.

2022-23 Women in College Coaching Report Card

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport released its annual 2022-2023 Women in College Coaching Report Card (WCCRC) logging the 11th year in collaboration with WeCOACH. The data in this report and over the past eleven years of the WCCRC documents longitudinal patterns of percentages of women head coaches within NCAA Division-I athletics.

Key Findings:

  • THE TRENDS:
    • Based on the percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams, 10 of 87 (11.5%) institutions received an A grade for being above average compared to peer institutions. This is a dramatic & historic increase (the most ever!) in the number of institutions and that earned As!…and the fewest Fs!
    • For the second time in ten years and for two years in a row, a
      majority of positional vacancies (58.1%) were filled by women.
    • This year marks the first time all select seven conferences increased
      in the percentage of women head coaches.
    • Basketball the most lucrative, visible and popular women’s
      intercollegiate sport moved up to an A grade for the first time.
    • The percentage of women head coaches of NCAA D-I women’s teams
      in seven select conferences is up again for the ninth year in a row.
      The percentage of women head coaches increased by the largest
      margin (2.3%) in the history of the Report Card, and 2022 marked the
      second greatest increase (1.2%)
  • THE LEADERS:
    • Institutional leader: California (77.8%), Cincinnati (77.8%)
    • Conference leader: Big Ten (54.3%)
    • Sport leader: Lacrosse (93.3%)
    • Emerging sport leader: Acrobatics & Tumbling (100%), Wrestling (100%)
  • BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC) COACHES:
    • Based on the data, women coaches of color are underrepresented (6.2%) as head coaches of women’s teams.
    • However, last year in this report women of color held 55 (5.7%) head coach positions of women’s teams, while this year that number increased to 61 (6.2%).
    • Only 12.1% (15 of 124) of all head coaches hired in the last year were women of color.
    • For the first time, a majority (65%, 15 of 23) of BIPOC coaches hired were women of color.
    • The American Conference evidenced the highest percentage of BIPOC women head coaches of women’s teams (12.9%).

2021-22 Women in College Coaching Report Card

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport released its annual 2021-2022 Women in College Coaching Report Card™ (WCCRC) marking the 10th year in collaboration with WeCOACH. Data in this report and over the last ten years of the WCCRC documents longitudinal patterns of percentages of women head coaches within NCAA Division-I athletics. Data this year points to some good news!

Key Findings:

  • THE TRENDS:
    • First, the data indicate that the percentage of women head coaches of NCAA D-I women’s teams in Select 7 conferences is up again (43.7%) for the eighth year in a row, and for the fourth year in a row for all NCAA D-I women’s teams (43.4%).
    • Second, the data is headed in the right direction—UP!
    • Third, the percentage of women head coaches in the Select 7 conferences went up by the largest margin (1.3%) in the history of the WCCRC! Lastly, for the first time in 10 years, the number of women head coaches hired to replace outgoing coaches was greater than the number of men hired.
  • THE LEADERS:
    • 23 of 359 (6.4%) NCAA D-I institutions earned an A grade (70%+ of women head coaches of women’s teams), up from 20 last year
      • Institutional leader: University of Rhode Island (90%)
      • Conference leader: Ivy League (56.4%)
      • Sport leader: Lacrosse (90.8%)
      • Emerging sport leader: Acrobatics & Tumbling (100%)
  • BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC) COACHES:
    • Based on the data, women coaches of color are vastly underrepresented (7.3%) as head coaches of women’s teams.
    • Of the 104 BIPOC coaches hired, 50 (48.1%) were women.
    • Five institutions at the time of data collection (Alabama A&M, Southern University at Baton Rouge, South Carolina State, Alcorn State, and Mississippi Valley State) had 100% BIPOC head coaches, while 98 institutions had 0% BIPOC head coaches.
    • The top five sports in which women coaches of color were represented as head coaches were: basketball (n=81, 22.7%), volleyball (n=42, 12.3%), tennis (n=26, 8.5%), track and field (n=28, 8%), and softball (n=20, 6.7%).
    • For NCAA D-I conferences, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) had 89.4% and the Summit League had 7.7% BIPOC head coaches of women’s teams. The Big 12 had zero women head coaches of color.

2020-21 Women in College Coaching Report Card

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport released its annual Women in College Coaching Report Card.  Produced in collaboration with WeCOACH, the report documents the percentage of women in head coaching positions for women’s teams at 357 schools within NCAA Division I conferences for 2020-21.

Key Findings:

  • THE TREND: The percentage of D-I women head coaches went up (.4%) and is now at 42.7% (up from 42.3% in 2019-20)—the data is trending in the right direction, but is still remarkably stagnant. At this rate, increasing on average .3% over the last nine years, it will take 22 years to reach 50% and 143 years to reach pre-Title IX levels (90%) of women coaching women.
  • THE LEADERS for Percentage of NCAA D-I Women Head Coaches of Women Teams
    • Institutional leader: Florida A&M (85.7%)
    • Conference leader: Ivy League (55.1%) – also marks the first time a Conference has received a “B” grade
    • Sport leader: Wrestling (100%), NCAA emerging sport
  • HISTORY IN THE MAKING: For the first time in report card history the majority (50.5%) of the 287 head coach hires were women in one year.
  • COACHES OF COLOR: For the first-time the report analyzed coaches of color.
    • Based on the data, Women Coaches of Color are vastly underrepresented (7%) as head coaches of women teams
    • Over one-fourth (n=117, 28.6%) of Black head coaches, both men and women, are employed at HBCUs

2019-20 Women in College Coaching Report Card – Select 7

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport released its annual Women in College Coaching Report Card.  Produced in collaboration with WeCOACH, the report documents the percentage of women in head coaching positions for women’s teams at 86 schools within seven select NCAA Division I conferences (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) for 2019-20.

Key Findings:

  • The percentage of women head coaches in seven select NCAA Division I conferences went up for the seventh year in a row and is now at 42.3% (up from 41.8% in 2018-19)—the data is trending in the right direction!
  • Leaders
    • Institutional leader: Cincinnati
    • Conference leader: Big Ten
  • 49% of the institutions are WeCOACH institutional group members and 2 (Big 12, BIG East) are conference-wide members
  • Out of 86 institutions, four earned A grades: Cincinnati, Central Florida, Washington and Oklahoma.
  • Nine institutions earned F grades, including one school that had zero women head coaches.

2019-20 Women in College Coaching Report Card – All Division I

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota released its annual Women in College Coaching Report Card (WCCRC) in collaboration with WeCOACH. The report documents the percentage of women in all coaching positions for women’s teams at NCAA Division-I institutions.

Key Findings:

  • The percentage of D-I women Head Coaches went up and is now at 42.3% (up from 42.1% in 2018-19)—the data is trending in the right direction! but is remarkably stagnant.
  • Leaders for Percentage of Women Head Coaches of Women Teams:
    • Institutional leader: Tennessee State (85.7%)
    • Conference leader: Ivy League (52.4%)
    • Sport leader: Wrestling (100%), NCAA emerging sport
  • The majority (52.7%) of the 442 head coach hires were men.
  • As the coaching position became more visible, lucrative and powerful, fewer women occupied the position. (i.e., from Graduate Assistant to Head Coach to Director of Sport)
  • Starting at the Assistant Coach position, men are statistically and significantly older than women and are more likely to have children.
  • Based on the data, we identified that the Assistant Coach is a critical zone of attrition in the career pipeline for women, possibly due in part to parental status. This report identifies leaks in the pipeline and opportunities for policy, support and programming.

2019-20 Women in College Coaching Report Card – Select 7

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport released its annual Women in College Coaching Report Card.  Produced in collaboration with WeCOACH, the report documents the percentage of women in head coaching positions for women’s teams at 86 schools within seven select NCAA Division I conferences (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) for 2019-20.

Key Findings:

  • The percentage of women head coaches in seven select NCAA Division I conferences went up for the seventh year in a row and is now at 42.3% (up from 41.8% in 2018-19)—the data is trending in the right direction!
  • Leaders
    • Institutional leader: Cincinnati
    • Conference leader: Big Ten
  • 49% of the institutions are WeCOACH institutional group members and 2 (Big 12, BIG East) are conference-wide members
  • Out of 86 institutions, four earned A grades: Cincinnati, Central Florida, Washington and Oklahoma.
  • Nine institutions earned F grades, including one school that had zero women head coaches.

2017-18 Report Cards

2017-18 Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A report on seven select NCAA Division-I conferences
This longitudinal research series, now in its sixth year, is a partnership between the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota—the first research center of its kind in the world—and WeCOACH. This report focuses on seven NCAA Division I conferences.

 

2017-18 Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A comprehensive report on NCAA Division-III Institutions
In our first four years of the report, we primarily examined a sample of “big time” FBS Division-I athletic programs, but were repeatedly asked how the data translated to the Division-III level. In this report employment patterns of head coaches in all Division-III women’s athletics programs at all institutions and conferences is provided.

 

2017-18 Gender, Race & LGBT Inclusion of Head Coaches of Women’s Teams: A Report on Select NCAA Division I Conferences for the 45th Anniversary of Title IX
Race and gender data for head coaches of women’s teams was collected for eight select NCAA Division I conferences. Conferences were assigned a grade for race and a separate grade for gender, and recognition was included for LGBT inclusion practices at the institutional and conference level.

 

2016-17 Report Cards

2016-17 Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A report on select NCAA Division-I institutions
This longitudinal research series, now in its fifth year (2012-17), is a partnership
between the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University
of Minnesota—the first research center of its kind in the world—and WeCOACH. This report focuses on a select segment of NCAA Division I institutions.

 

2016-17 Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A report on select NCAA Division-II institutions
In the first four years of the Report, we investigated NCAA FBS Division-I (2012-
13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) and Division-III athletic programs (2013-14, 2016-17), but
were repeatedly asked how the data translated to the Division-II level. This report aims to
fill that gap.

 

2016-17 Head Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Report on Select NCAA Division-III Institutions
In the first four years of releasing the report, it primarily examined a sample of “big time” FBS
Division-I athletic programs, but many repeatedly asked how the data translated to the
Division-III level. This report aims to fill that gap.

 

2015-16 Report Card

2015-16 Head Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Report on Select NCAA Division-I FBS Institutions.
This annual report, specifically documents the percentage of head coaches of women’s teams in “big time” collegiate athletics by institution and sport.

 

Read Kate Fagan’s espnW exclusive coverage of the 2015-16 report launch, “Central Florida, Cincinnati Earn As in Tucker Center Study”

 

2014-15 Report Card

Read Kate Fagan’s espnW exclusive coverage of the 2014-15 report launch, “Women Coaching Women? Big-Time Schools Grade Out Terribly.”

2014-15_report-cover2014-15 Head Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Report on Select NCAA Division-I FBS Institutions.
This annual report, specifically documents the percentage of head coaches of women’s teams in “big time” collegiate athletics by institution and sport.

 

Check out the accompanying infographic, the 2014-15 Infographic: The Status of Women in Collegiate Coaching: A Report Card.
See which NCAA Division-I FBS institutions receive passing and failing grades.

 

2013-14 Report Card

Read Christine Brennan’s USA Today coverage of the 2013-14 report launch.

head-coaches-report-graphicHead Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Report on Select NCAA Division-I FBS Institutions, 2013-14
This annual report specifically documents the percentage of head coaches of women’s teams in “big time” collegiate athletics by institution and sport.

 

infographicCheck out the accompanying infographic, The Status of Women in Collegiate Coaching: A Report Card, 2013-14
See which NCAA Division-I FBS institutions receive passing and failing grades!

 

decline-of-women-coaches-graphicThe Decline of Women Coaches in Collegiate Athletics: A Report on Select NCAA Division-I FBS Institutions, 2012-13
A bi-annual report that documents the percentage of women coaches of women’s teams in “big time” college athletics by sport, conference and institution.

 

acostaWomen in Intercollegiate Sport: A Longitudinal National Study, 37 Year Update
by Acosta & Carpenter.
Acosta and Carpenter released their 37 year update. We thank Vivian and Linda for their contributions and tireless efforts. The report is available for downloading at acostacarpenter.org

 

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