Opportunities for women college athletes now abound, yet female collegiate coaches are faring far less well.
In fact, says Linda Carpenter, a physical education professor at Brooklyn College who has tracked women in college sports for 13 years, says the ranks of female coaches are dwindling.
Less than 50 percent of National Collegiate Athletic Association-governed women`s teams are coached by women, and less than 1 percent of college men`s teams have female coaches, she says.
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It`s a considerable decline since 1972-before the advent of Title IX legislation which mandated equal opportunities for female athletes at schools receiving federal funds and began attracting more men to women`s teams coaching positions because of improved salary offerings.
Then, more than 90 percent of women`s teams were coached by women. The number of women coaching men`s teams remained below 1 percent.
Carpenter and colleague Vivian Acosta polled coaches and administrators on the reasons for the paucity of women coaches. Tops on the list: the power of the old boy network. ”Guys think of Joe rather than Josephine when looking for coaches,” Carpenter says. Other reasons: a lack of support systems and role models for women and the misperception that women coaches burn out more quickly than men coaches.