African American BB Coaches? Declining? Yes.

Shannon Ryan:

An annual report from Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport noted that head coaching opportunities for people of color “declined significantly” in 2013-14. Just 22 percent of men’s Division I basketball coaches were African-American, down from 23 percent the year prior.

The all-time high for black head coaches came in 2005-06 when 25.2 percent were African-American. The lowest rates came in 2011-12 when only 18.6 percent were African-American.

The inequity is striking given that 58 percent of college basketball players are African-American and nearly every bench includes at least one black assistant.

“We can talk about rules and one-and-dones, but this is the elephant in the room,” said Richard Lapchick, the institute’s director. “We’re silent on issues of race and gender.”

Of the eight African-American coaches who have been replaced, seven have been with white coaches. Of the 25 openings in college basketball, two black coaches have been hired, Dave Leitao at DePaul and Shaka Smart reportedly at Texas.

“It’s particularly striking this year,” said Jim Haney, the National Association of Basketball Coaches executive director. “We’ll be watching very closely over the next month or so.”

The numbers are even more dire for African-Americans coaching women’s teams. That number dropped from 20.6 percent in 2012-13 to just 14.3 percent the following year.