Study shows decline in women college head coaches

The percentage of women head coaches in NCAA Division I sports has decreased by 0.2% to 47.5%, the first decrease in the last 13 years, according to a June report from the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport.

The university, in partnership with WeCoach, released its annual “Women in College Coaching Report Card” on June 24, marking the 54^th anniversary of Title IX. The report documents the percentage of women in all coaching positions for women’s teams within seven select NCAA D-I conferences — American, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

“The report card is a signature research project for the Tucker Center that positions us as a thought leader for and about women sport coaches,” Tucker Center Director Nicole M. LaVoi said.

Head coach turnover was also studied, and the report revealed that between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, 10.2% of head coach positions turned over and less than half (48.2%) of those positions were filled by women. Overall, the average yearly turnover rate for head coaches in the 11 years the report has been published is 9.8%.

Additionally, the study showed that women were fired/nonrenewed three times more than men and women resigned over four times more than men, while three men moved into athletic administration compared with zero women.

The report graded each institution based on the percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams. Of the 94 institutions, seven received an A grade, 30 received a B, 22 received a C and 31 received a D. Four institutions received an F grade, meaning 24% or fewer of their head coaches were women.

Michigan State University had the highest percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams at nearly 82%.

Race was also studied in the report, which showed that white coaches held 83.4 percent of head coaching positions. The percentage of women of color in head coaching positions decreased slightly from 7.5% to 7.3%. Meanwhile, 10 of the 28 sports and 44 of 94 institutions included in the report employed zero women of color in head coaching positions.

“While it is too early to determine if the decline is a long-term trend or a single-year anomaly, the situation requires a measured interpretation,” the report said. “Moving forward, the Tucker Center will remain vigilant to see if this decline signals a lasting trend; continue to collaborate, confront systemic barriers; and help reinvigorate the momentum around elevating women in sports coaching.”

The full report can be viewed here.