College football is arguably the most popular sport at the nation’s colleges and universities. Bringing in more than $90 million annually in revenue at the highest grossing University of Texas, it is no wonder that school leaders view the football team as less of an extracurricular activity and more of a moneymaker. The revenue that is generated by college football programs only represents a small piece of the overall financial benefits. Schools with strong athletic programs, particularly in the area of football, bring in more prospective students and have larger booster groups in place.
Like every area of higher education, finding the right blend of diversity on the football field is a challenge. Take Charlie Strong, for example. The coach of Louisville that led the team to victory in the Sugar Bowl was an assistant for a whopping 27 years before finally being given a head coaching opportunity. In just two seasons, he produced a bowl-worthy squad and began receiving offers from other schools, like Tennessee. Strong insists that he will not leave Louisville because of his loyalty to his superiors but is there more to it than that?
The Facts
Not many African-American head coaches at the college level have had the same success as Strong—mainly because many have not been given the chance. Of the 124 Division 1-A college football schools, only 15 had African-American coaches in the 2012 season, according to an executive report by the Black Coaches Association. The Big Ten conference has seen zero Black head coaches in the past 10 years.
While head coaches are the most visible, support positions are severely underrepresented as well. Only 312 of 1,018 of college football assistant coaches are Black, and only 31 of 255 of offensive and defensive coordinators are African-American. Combined, Black football coaches and support staff represent a measly 5 percent of Football Bowl Subdivision numbers.
At Division II and Division III schools, diversity is even worse. The Black Coaches Association reports that, in the 2012 season, only nine schools of 113 in these two categories had head coaches of color. These numbers exclude historically Black universities.
The Problem
