In 1981, Dennis Green became the first Black head coach of a Power 5 football program (Northwestern). Two years earlier, Willie Jeffries broke the same ground in Division I-A (now FBS) at Wichita State.
Green and Jeffries were pioneers in a sport where Black men had increased representation on the field but not the sideline. But four decades after Green’s hiring, college football’s leadership remains disproportionately white, despite recent diversity initiatives. Since 1981, only 39 Black coaches and 29 Black athletic directors have been hired, slightly less than 10% of hires for each position. Only 30 of 65 power programs have hired a Black coach; 20 have hired a Black AD.
ESPN examined the hiring of Black leaders at every Power 5 football program (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, plus Notre Dame), spotlighting four positions: Head coach, athletic director, and offensive and defensive coordinator, the jobs most likely to produce head coaches. Only those who had primary coordinator titles (sole or shared) were included; interims were not. ESPN sent data to the schools for verification.
