UNC Needs Solution to Black-Out

There, at the University of North Carolina, not one black coach could be found. Not that UNC was alone in that distinction. Far from it.

Jackie Robinson might have broken Major League Baseball's color barrier a decade earlier, but the proverbial coaching club, like a water fountain, may as well have had a sign in front of it reading "No Coloreds."

Of course, back then, Willingham might not even have noticed the absence of black coaches at his home state's most prominent university. But it'd be nearly impossible for him -- or anyone else -- not to be aware of it now.

Willingham, 48, was hired on the last day of 2001 as the head football coach at Notre Dame. His appointment to that prestigious post made him the first black head coach in school history.

And whether Notre Dame intended to or not, it has issued a challenge to other high-profile collegiate programs that can be summed up quite succinctly: We're starting a movement.

Get on the bus, or get left behind.

UNC, which embarrassingly has had only one black head coach in its history, would be wise to get to the station.

Consider the following facts presented in a 2001 study by Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society (figures exclude historically black colleges and universities):

* Willingham, who left the head position at Stanford for South Bend, is one of four black head coaches at the 117 Division I-A football programs. About half of the athletes are black.

* Last year, 21.6 percent of Div. I men's basketball coaches were black. So were more than half of the athletes.

* Overall, about 1/4 of college athletes are black. Yet, as of last year, only 6 percent of their coaches were.

The uneven playing field that exists in obtaining head coaching jobs is wholly inexcusable, and there are many possible reasons for its existence.

One is that those who do the hiring are almost exclusively whites. Last year, 95.9 percent of Div. I athletic directors were white; 2.4 percent were black.

That fuels the "old boys' network" -- white males consulting with white males to hire, yes, white males.

"It's not overt racism, but it's the remnants of what people call institutional racism," said Kevin J. Matthews, director of national diversity programs for the Study of Sport in Society.

Many athletic directors also are probably scared of alienating alumni and boosters. College athletics is a business, and the bottom line is deemed more important than fighting social causes.

So it's time for a thorough examination of the hiring process nationwide.

"It's time for the people who make the decisions to be held accountable," said Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association.

So, how 'bout it, Dick Baddour?

UNC's athletic director said that the people he consults when he has a head-coaching void comprise a "wide variety" of individuals "with different backgrounds," including blacks.

He added that UNC has offered head jobs to blacks in the past and been rejected (he declined to cite specific cases), and that diversity in coaching is of "paramount interest" to him and other ADs.

"I'm just delighted with our coaching staff across the board," Baddour said, "but certainly that is something that is a priority to us, as well."

It should be the biggest one. UNC's hiring record, after all, is a joke.

Hubert West, the only black head coach in school history, guided the track and field team from 1982-83.

One coach. Who lasted two years.

But if UNC -- which has 10 black assistant coaches -- wants to erase that stigma and become a leader in what, hopefully, is developing into a national movement, there's an easy solution.

Hire a black head coach.

Yeah, I know that there are no openings right now. But Baddour needs to keep his eyes wide-open and actively seek a black head coach the next time a vacancy occurs.

Each year, UNC ranks as one of the nation's top public universities and contends for the Sears Cup. It also is the leading seller of collegiate athletic apparel. Quite simply, it is highly visible.

Hiring a black head coach would assert the school as a true proponent of diversity and equal opportunity. It would perpetuate the momentum that Notre Dame has created, challenging the rest of the nation's programs to follow suit.

"If North Carolina hired an African-American coach in any position, it would be a statement, and it would have to be regarded as the school taking a role in diversity," Matthews said.

And then, when young black children in North Carolina and the rest of the country glanced toward our school, they would see a whole new world of possibilities, a new example to strive for.

Not a sign reading "No Coloreds."

James Giza can be reached at giza@email.unc.edu.