NCAA Athletic Director Hiring Criteria and Career Pathways from 2010-19

• Across the ten-year timeframe, significantly more men have been hired into athletic director roles than women.
• The majority of the hires were White men.
• There was a small rise in the number of Black men hired around 2015, but the numbers then began a continued downward trend.
• In years where more women were hired (2017 and 2018), the increase was driven largely by women who were White rather than women of Color.

In looking at the education levels of incoming athletic directors, the data revealed a relationship between intersectionality and the highest levels of degrees earned among athletic directors hired during the time period. Black athletic directors earned graduate degrees at a rate of 89% compared to 79% of White athletic directors. At the doctoral degree level, 27% of Black athletic directors held these degrees compared to 19% of their White peers. All Asian American and Latino/a athletic directors held graduate degrees.

The degree-attainment gap was present for men and women as well. More than 89% of women athletic directors held graduate degrees compared to 80% of athletic directors who were men. Women and men held doctoral degrees at 28% and 17% respectively. Within just women athletic directors, 94% of athletic directors of Color had graduate degrees compared to 87% of athletic directors who were White. The contrast was even greater among men, with 90% of athletic directors who were men of Color having graduate degrees compared to 78% of athletic directors who were White men. For PhD degrees specifically, a disproportionately high percentage of women who were Black earned these doctorates (27%) compared to women who were White (10%).

We also examined what are considered common qualifications for collegiate athletic directors, such as past collegiate coaching experience and playing experience. Exploration of coaching experience showed different patterns across gender, but similar patterns across race/ethnicity within gender.

Incoming Athletic Directors 2010-2019

Athletic Directors by Race/EthnicityAthletic Directors by Gender

Highest Degree Earned

Select a DegreeBachelor’sGraduateDoctoral

Remove HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)

298 White

74 African American

8 Latino/a

5 Asian American

Incoming Women Athletic Directors’ NCAA Coaching Experience by Race for 2010-19

• The majority of women athletic directors had NCAA coaching experience, with the exception of Latinas, none of whom did.
• Conversely, all Asian American women athletic directors had NCAA coaching experience.
• The portion of women athletic directors with coaching experience (52%) was nearly equal to those who did not (48%).
• This same approximate ratio held as women athletic directors with coaching experience were broken down between White women (53%) and women of Color (50%).

Incoming Men Athletic Directors’ NCAA Coaching Experience by Race for 2010-19

Note. NCAA = National Collegiate Athletic Association.

• Coaching experience among men athletic directors hired over the last decade starkly contrasts that of women athletic directors
• The majority of men across all races/ethnicities did not have NCAA coaching experience (82%).
• When comparing Black athletic directors and their White peers, 28% of Black athletic directors hired had NCAA coaching experience, while only 21% of White athletic directors did.
• No Asian American men or Latino athletic directors in our sample had NCAA coaching experience.

Incoming Athletic Directors’ NCAA Coaching Experience by Gender and Race

• Coaching experience among men athletic directors hired over the last decade starkly contrasts that of women athletic directors.
• The majority of men across all races/ethnicities did not have NCAA coaching experience (82%).
• When comparing Black athletic directors and their White peers, 28% of Black athletic directors hired had NCAA coaching experience, while only 21% of White athletic directors did.
• No Asian American or Latino athletic directors in our sample had NCAA coaching experience.

There has often been discussion about playing experience being a prerequisite to coaching and athletic director positions. Indeed, the majority of athletic directors were NCAA athletes.

Total Number of Women Athletic Directors Who were NCAA Athletes by Race/Ethnicity for 2010-19

• Looking within women athletic directors, all Asian Americans were NCAA athletes and the majority of Black and White women were as well and at similar percentages.
• Only Latinas had a majority of athletic directors who did not come from NCAA athlete backgrounds.

Total Number of Men Athletic Directors Who were NCAA Athletes by Race/Ethnicity for 2010-19

• There were differences across race/ethnicity within men athletic directors hired.
• No Asian Americans were NCAA athletes and all Latinos were NCAA athletes.
• Among Black men, 71% were NCAA athletes compared to only 52% of athletic directors who were White men .
• Comparing men to women (collapsed across race/ethnicity), a higher percentage of women athletic directors (74%) were NCAA athletes compared to men (56%).

In order to examine whether or not HBCUs impacted hiring patterns, additional analyses were completed comparing hiring patterns at HBCUs to those at non-HBCUs. After removing the HBCUs from the study, different hiring patterns emerge with regard to both race/ethnicity and gender.

Total Numbers of Incoming Athletic Directors at HBCU and Non-HBCU Institutions by Sex and Race for 2010-19

Note. HBCU = Historically Black Universities and Colleges.

• HBCUs bolster numbers of Black athletic directors hired during this timeframe by over 1/3.
• This is especially true for Black women.
• Without HBCUs, White, Latino(a), and Asian American athletic director opportunities remained unchanged.

The general breakdown of experience showed that most athletic directors held an athletic director positions or a position directly below that of athletic director immediately prior to being hired. This was true across races/ethnicities as well as across men and women.

Immediate Previously-Held Position of Incoming Women and Men Athletic Directors by Race/Ethnicity for 2010-19

Note. AD = athletic director; AD Other = a step down from head athletic director as indicated by an additional descriptor such as “assistant”; AT = athletic trainer; BE = business executive; CE = collegiate executive; CO = other non-athletic college position; SBE = sports business executive.

• Women who were White left athletic director positions at lower rates than women of Color, despite representing a higher proportion of hires.
• Men and women who were White retired in higher proportions than athletic directors of other races or ethnicities.
• White men and Black men moved on to another athletic director position at similar rates.
• Women who are White moved on to another athletic director position at a higher proportion than did women who are Black.

When leaving athletic director positions, the numbers were varied across a number of next opportunity options. White men (33%) and Black men (33%) both moved on to another athletic director position at similar rates. White women moved on to another athletic director position at a higher proportion than Black women did (26% and 0% respectively). Both Asian American women and Latinas in our sample moved on to another athletic director position. Asian American men in this timeframe also moved on to athletic director positions, but only two out of the five Latinos did.

Of note, White men and women retired in higher proportions than athletic directors of other races or ethnicities. Retirement was second only to another athletic direction position for White men (23%), while Black men were nearly as likely to be unemployed (14%) as retired (12%) after departing. For women athletic directors, 21% of White women went on to retirement, while only 10% of women of Color did. The table below provides a breakdown of next opportunities.

Immediate Next Opportunity for Outgoing Directors by Race/Ethnicity and Gender for 2010-19

Note. AD = athletic director; AD Other = a step down from head athletic director as indicated by an additional descriptor such as “assistant”; AT = athletic trainer; BE = business executive; CE = collegiate executive; CO = other non-athletic college position; SBE = sports business executive.