Survey Shows New England Athletic Departments Lack Diversity

August 25, 2020 / Athletic Administration
Collegiate athletic departments in New England appear to have a diversity issue on its hands.

According to a recent survey conducted by The Boston Globe, only five of the 112 colleges and universities in the region, employed a Black athletic director — or 4.5 percent.

Photo: BluePhi.net / Creative Commons

Furthermore, the study showed that only one of the 15 NCAA Division I athletic departments were led by a person of color.

Moving past the administration level, the lack of diversity is even more glaring on the coaching level. The data, compiled by the Globe’s Bob Hohler, showed that of the 58 head football coaches for New England colleges only two were Black (3.4%) — both leading NCAA Division III programs.

These statistics are below the nationwide average of all NCAA divisions in 2019, which show that 10.3 percent of athletic directors were Black while 11.7 percent of football coaches were Black, according to the Globe.

“The percentages tell the true story,” former Patriots player Garin Veris, who became Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s first Black athletic director in 2015, and served until 2018, told the Globe. “What’s going on in New England is really sad.”

The report points out that the University of Massachusetts system — with athletic programs from UMass Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell — has only one school with more than one Black head coach. Five other state schools — Salem State University, Fitchburg State, Westfield State, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts — do not employ a Black coach, according to the Globe.

» ALSO SEE: HS Football Season Kicks Off Amid Pandemic

Outside of the Bay State, the report pointed to the other flagship universities of Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont employs neither a Black athletic director nor head coaches in any sports.

Fifty-nine percent of the 112 colleges and universities in New England do not employ both Black athletic directors or head coaches, according to the Globe.

To read the full report from The Boston Globe on racial disparity, click here.