I Love Being their Last Coach: Analyzing the Career Pathways and Profiles of Women Head Coaches with Career Longevity in NCAA D-I

Abstract

Empirical studies have documented a drastic decline and a continuing stagnation in the percentage of women in collegiate coaching positions since the inception of Title IX in 1972 (LaVoi, 2018a; Lapchick, 2017; Acosta & Carpenter, 2014). Although a number of researchers have examined why women leave coaching, limited attention has been given to those that stay in coaching for the duration of their careers. The purpose of this study is to examine NCAA D-I women head coaches with a career longevity of 20 or more years as a function of their demographic background and career trajectories. Using a three-phase, mixed-method explanatory design of a quantitative followed by a qualitative evaluation (Creswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003), the first phase of this study includes the development of a dataset of the biographical profiles of every female head coach of a women’s sport program with career longevity. After identifying several key factors in those coaches’ demographics and career trajectories, the second and third phases included qualitative, narrative-based interviews to verify and potentially identify other support networks and factors which have allowed them to survive and thrive within the profession. Findings have implications for current and future female coaches, while also providing insight as to how institutions can better retain women in the profession.