Shortage Of Women In College Sports Essay

Women’s collegiate athletics has become a multi-million dollar industry in the past three decades. Because of this exponential growth and interest, many female athletes take advantage of the opportunity to attend a college or a university on athletic scholarship because of their ability in their specific sport. The issue, however, occurs at the end of their collegiate careers, when they are pursuing careers in coaching or athletic administration. According to a recent study, only 40.2 percent of all head coaches in Women’s NCAA athletics (all divisions) are female; this percentage falls to 38.9 percent in Division I only (Barrett, 2016). The NCAA currently has 346 universities competing at the Division I level. The only sport with a majority of female head coaches is basketball with 58.6 percent. However, this number has decreased over the last 5 years (Barrett, 2016). Recent research has also shown that while 60 percent of women’s NCAA Division I coaches are men, only 3 percent of men’s NCAA Division I coaches are women (Barrett, 2016). Women in positions of authority in NCAA athletic departments are also a scarcity. Among the 346 schools actively

Second, why are the lengths of their careers shorter than that of males in the same positions? Finally, does gender effect the career lengths of administrators in college athletics? The most accurate way to answer these questions is to go straight to the source, NCAA participants. Surveys asking questions such as “How many female head women’s team coaches are on the staff? How many male head women’s team coaches are on the staff? Is the Athletic Director at the institution male or female? How long have they been in this position? These along with other questions relevant to the research, will provide better insight into the current situation of women in these types of leadership