Would a 'Rooney Rule' Help Minorities in NCAA Football?

Would a 'Rooney Rule' Help Minorities in NCAA Football? At www.fannation.com/si_blogs, Arash Markazi suggests the NCAA should adopt a rule similar to the 'Rooney Rule' in the NFL. The rule is intended to give minority coaches more interview opportunities for head coaching jobs in the NFL. The recent resignations/firings of Ty Willingham, Ron Prince, and Sylvester Croom have reduce the number of NCAA minority coaches to 3; Randy Shannon of Miami, Kevin Sumlin of Houston, and Turner Gill at Buffalo. But would a 'Rooney Rule' help more black coaches become head coaches at the Bowl Subdivision(former Division 1-A) level?

First, the NCAA cannot adopt such a rule. The NCAA is an association of not-for-profit organizations, and as such, cannot legally compel its members to make any hiring decisions. The NFL, as a for-profit organization, is governed under different laws.

Second, if such a rule were possible, it would not necessarily result in more black head coaches. Schools are still going to hire the candidates they think are going to give them the most wins, and best represent the school to the alumni and the public. Any official rule would force schools to interview minorities, but would only result in similar situations such as the Detroit Lions.

When the Lions wanted to hire Steve Mariucci as their next head coach, they could not get any minority candidates to interview for the job. The Lions were still required to interview minorities, but available coaches knew it was a token interview, and refused the request. In the end, the Lions hired Mariucci without interviewing any minorities.

So how can the NCAA improve minority hiring for head coaches? The solution may rest with coaches such as Shannon, and Gill, as well as Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith.

Tony Dungy was not the first African American head coach in the NFL. Fritz Pollard, Dennis Green, and Herm Edwards came before him. But he had the most success, first with Tampa Bay, and later leading the Indianapolis Colts to their first Super Bowl win. The 'Rooney Rule' was getting coaches interviews, but the success of Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, and others has made race a non-issue when hiring an NFL head coach.

The NBA had coaches like KC Jones to lead the way for Doc Rivers and Avery Johnson. NCAA basketball, in both men's and women's programs, does not have as much disparity as NCAA football, and has numerous coaching examples, like John Thompson at Georgetown and Tubby Smith at Kentucky, who have won national titles.. Now Tony Dungy has shown that race does not determine successful football coaching. Continued success by Turner Gill and Randy Shannon will lead to more opportunity for other minority coaches. When one of those coaches wins a national title, then their will be no need to discuss special rules for hiring minorities. When that happens, the doubters will no longer be asking, "Can minorities really coach?" but "Who can get us the most wins, period?" As it should be.

Arash Markazi, "NCAA should consider its own Rooney Rule" Sportsillustrated.cnn.com