Study: Top FBS Leaders Remain White, Male - Higher Education: ORLANDO, Fla.—A new study by the University of Central Florida’s Diversity and Ethics in Sport released on Thursday shows that the top leadership positions at Football Bowl Subdivision schools and conferences remain mostly white and male.
The study examined the race and gender of conference commissioners and campus leaders, including college and university presidents, athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives for all 125 FBS institutions. It also included head football coaches, assistant coaches and student-athletes for the football teams.
Looking at numbers for the 2013-14 academic year, it found that 88.8 percent of university presidents, 84.8 percent of athletic directors and 100 percent of conference commissioners are white. White males accounted for 75.2 percent, 78.4 percent and 100 percent of those positions, respectively,
Study author Richard Lapchick called those numbers “unacceptable” and said part of the problem with getting more diversity throughout the system falls on the lack of penalties or sanctions for institutions that aren’t more diverse.
