Opinion: Editorial Pieces & Current Events Perspectives - USATODAY.com: The election of Barack Obama has sent an unmistakable message to young men and women of color that they can be anything they want if they put their mind to it.
Well, almost anything. The presidency may be within reach, but coaching a major college football program is another matter. College football stands out as perhaps the nation's most prominent symbol of institutionalized racism.
There is no other way to explain the numbers. Of the 119 head coaches in the NCAA's top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), only nine (seven blacks, one Latino and one of Polynesian heritage) are minorities. This in a sport where half the players are black.
