BLACK WOMEN ARE GETTING HIRED. ARE THEY BEING RETAINED?

2020 was a year no one will ever forget.

COVID-19 shut the world down. The murder of George Floyd followed. A few months later… the 2020 election. It was a time of uncertainty, fear, and division. Everyone, including athletes, was looking for authority they could trust as they dealt with grief, anger, and questions about identity and belonging.

As a head coach hired to a new program in 2019, I felt the weight of the shift. More was being asked of me in roles outside of just “coach.” Wearing multiple hats had always been the expectation, but this was different.

My personal views were constantly being questioned. Differing worldviews among teammates caused team friction that I was expected to resolve through computer screens. And my ability to keep everyone safe (and feeling good) as a measure of credible leadership was different from a win/loss record. At times, it felt like everything was spiraling.

Leadership, at all levels, felt the strain. Athletic directors and university presidents recognized the need for human-centered leadership during a time when games weren’t being played and fans weren’t in attendance. Safety, comfort, and trust took priority.

In women’s college basketball, what followed was a noticeable shift in who was being hired to lead Division I programs.

There was a measurable increase in hiring Black women.

In 2020, nearly half of the open positions at the Division I level were filled by Black women (15 of 36). In 2021, 30% of the vacancies went to Black women. In 2022, 40%.

Of the 55 Black women hires over those three years, 30 were first-time head coaches. These were former assistant coaches already doing the work of maintaining culture, building trust, and acting as the glue that held it all together.

At the time, it felt like progress.

Fast forward to today.

Of the Black women hired in 2020 and 2021, more than half no longer hold the seat. The verdict is still out for the 2022 class, but 6 of the 23 have already been let go.

The increase in hiring was clear. So was how quickly those opportunities disappeared…despite the timing and state of the world.

Why is that?

Post-pandemic, the landscape of women’s college basketball evolved, and the focus changed. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), revenue generation, increased visibility, and more financial pressure have changed the expectations tied to leadership.

Leaders who were hired into one version of the job (culture building) are now being evaluated in another (business acumen).

I experienced this firsthand. I found myself floundering in conversations about NIL. I delegated budget operations because I wanted no part of them. Fundraising wasn’t something I was expected to do, and I was grateful. I wasn’t taught to understand how vital it is to understand numbers. I hadn’t been in conversations around money or how to strategize in a way that was profitable. I just wasn’t business savvy.

Talking with other Black women coaches at the time, they shared my sentiments. We connected on what we wished we knew before sitting in the head coach seat. We felt the impact of gatekeeping, the weight of imposter syndrome, and the loneliness of figuring it out in real time, publicly.

As I celebrated the number of Black women that were being hired in 2020 and 2021, I also feared for them. The pressure, exhaustion, and overwhelming feelings of hopelessness had personally taken a toll on me.

Now, this isn’t about whether Black women can effectively lead at a high level. We can.

This is about preparation for a game that has now changed.

If I had advice for my younger self, advice that could have created a more aligned environment, it would be this:

As an assistant:

• Sit in on budget conversations when possible. Ask questions to understand how program budgets are structured

• Build relationships with administrators, donors, and booster organizations

• Learn how NIL operates at the institutional level, including what a program can and cannot offer

• Understand how roster management, transfer portal strategy, and scholarship allocation intersect

• Observe how decisions get made and who influences them

  
  

During the interview process for a Head Coach role:

• What specific results are expected during this contract period?

• How does the administration define progress when wins are still being built toward?

• What is the budget for staff, recruiting, and player development, and how has it changed over the past three years?

• What NIL resources are available, and who manages those relationships?

• Is there a mentor or professional development structure for head coaches and their staff?

• Who are the decision-makers around this program, and what is my access to them?

• Why did you consider me for this role? What specifically about my background made me the right fit at this time?

  
  

Gaining this level of awareness before stepping into the seat is essential to sustaining it. University leaders who are truly committed to hiring Black women into healthy environments will either have clear, thoughtful answers to these questions or the self-awareness to acknowledge where gaps exist.

Black women have always found a way to lead, build, and hold things together often with less support and less grace. This isn’t new.

What’s different is the opponent. But like any scouting report, once we understand what we’re up against, we know what it takes to win.