By Brian D. Stanchak, The BDS Agency
Since 2021, there have been 161 Division I Head Women’s Basketball Coach openings. We dive deep into the levels of experience, gender, and race of the coaches who were hired in each of these positions to see if there is an established trend.
The chart above details the number of hires who became a first-time Head Coach at the Division I level when hired. This chart includes hires who were previously an Assistant Coach or a non-Division I Head Coach directly prior to being hired. Over the past three years, 65.22% of hires were a first-time Division I Head Coach, with 30 or more first-time head coaches at the Division I level being hired during each of the past three off-seasons.
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The chart above details the number of hires who were in another Division I Head Coach position when they were hired for a new Division I Head Coach position. Over the past three years, 26.71% of hires were in another Division I Head Coach position directly prior to being hired at a new University, with this off-season showing the highest percentage of Division I head coaches moving on to other Division I Head Coach positions at 31.37%.
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The chart above details the number of hires who were previously in a Division I Head Coach position at some point during their career, but were not in that Head Coach position the season prior to being hired for a new Division I Head Coach position. Examples include a former Division I Head Coach who was an Assistant Coach at another University prior to being hired or a former Division I Head Coach who was not coaching at the time of their hiring. Over the past three years, 8.07% of hires were a Division I Head Coach at some point in their career, but not in that position the season prior to being hired.
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The chart above details the number of hires who were previously in a non-Division I Head Coach position when they were hired for a Division I Head Coach position. Examples include those who were a Division II, III, NAIA, or NJCAA Head Coach directly prior to being hired. Over the past three years, 15.53% of hires were in a non-Division I Head Coach position directly prior to being hired, with this off-season showing the highest percentage of non-Division I head coaches moving up to Division I Head Coach positions at 19.61%.
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The chart above details the number of hires who were previously in a collegiate Head Coach position (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA) at some point during their career, whether they were in that role directly prior to being hired or not. Over the past three years, 60.25% of hires had some prior Head Coach experience at the collegiate level.
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The chart above details the number of hires who had no prior collegiate (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA) Head Coach experience prior to their hiring. Over the past three years, 39.75% of hires had no prior collegiate Head Coach experience.
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The chart above details the number of hires who were directly promoted from Assistant or Associate Head Coach to Head Coach of the same program by their University. Over the past three years, 13.66% of hires were directly promoted from Assistant or Associate Head Coach to Head Coach by their University.
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The chart above details the number of females who were hired, regardless of prior experience. Over the past three years, 77.64% of hires were females, with this off-season showing the lowest percentage of females who were hired as Division I head coaches over the past three years at 60.78%.
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The chart above details the number of hires of coaches who are people of color, regardless of gender and prior experience. Over the past three years, 45.34% of hires were coaches who are people of color, with this off-season showing the highest percentage of people of color who were hired as Division I head coaches at 49.02%.
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The chart above details the number of hires of coaches who are female people of color, regardless of prior experience. Over the past three years, 35.40% of hires were female people of color, with this off-season showing the lowest percentage of female people of color being hired as Division I head coaches at 29.41%.
Final Analysis: In 2023, 39.22% of hires were male. This is a major shift from the last two off-seasons. 2023’s 20 male Division I Head Coach hires surpassed the 16 male Division I Head Coach hires from the 2021 and 2022 off-season’s combined.
We also continue to see an emphasis on the hiring of people of color in Division I Head Coach positions, as the percentage of the hires of coaches who are people of color, regardless of race, has increased for the third consecutive year (40.74% in 2021 to 46.43% in 2022 to 49.02% in 2023).
About The BDS Agency: Founded in 2013, The BDS Agency is a nationally respected industry leader specializing in advising, marketing, and representing college basketball coaches to assist them in further maximizing and protecting all aspects of their careers. Since 2013, The BDS Agency has represented 71 clients who obtained a first-time or new Division I Head Women’s Basketball Coach position.