COURTESY RON FRIED / SAN JOSE STATE San Jose State coach Fitz Hill, in town to play Hawaii tomorrow, is one of only four black Division I head football coaches in the country.

Minority coaches are rare
in college football, and those
with jobs want it to change

Minority report

---

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

BUZZ Preston -- and many others -- say the numbers speak for themselves, and they tell a "despicable" story.

Around 40 percent of the players in Division I-A college football are African-American.

Hawaii vs. San Jose St. When: Tomorrow, 6:05 p.m. Where: Aloha Stadium Tickets: $21 sideline, $16 end zone, $12 students/seniors, UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, except for student tickets at Stan Sheriff Center. Also at Ticket Plus outlets or by calling (808) 526-4400. TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe. Radio: 1420-AM.

Less than 3 1/2 percent of the head coaches in Division I-A football are African-American.

Preston, the former Hawaii player and assistant coach who is now the running backs and special teams assistant at Notre Dame, has always been an affable fellow. But get him on the subject of the lack of minority coaches and his blood boils.

"It's a pretty despicable situation," Preston said this week in a phone interview from South Bend, Ind. "I hope (Notre Dame's success under black head coach Ty Willingham) will change things for everyone and get the powers that be to look at people for their ability to lead and not the color of their skin."

Fitz Hill, one of the nation's four black head coaches, is in town. His San Jose State Spartans (4-5, 2-2 Western Athletic Conference) play Hawaii's Warriors (6-2, 5-1) tomorrow night at Aloha Stadium. The second-year head coach has been vocal about the lack of opportunities for blacks to become head coaches.

"It's something I've researched, and it really hasn't changed," said Hill, holder of a Ph.D. in education and one of three Division I-A head coaches with a doctorate. "But the situation with Tyrone going to Notre Dame (from Stanford) and winning, hey, that shows, given the opportunity with the proper resources, anybody with the ability can be successful. It's about access to the opportunities."

Hill is making the most of limited resources at San Jose State. The 38-year-old Desert Storm veteran has battled hard to compete with a team that has only 61 of a possible 85 scholarship athletes, is struggling to draw fans for home games, and must play big-name opponents on the road to make enough money to make ends meet.

Hill seems to have the Spartans headed in the right direction. They went 3-9 last year, but have improved and beat Illinois 38-35 on the road this year.

The work of Dr. Hill is as important as that of Coach Hill; his research includes a survey of all college coaches about hiring practices and the differences between whites and blacks in the profession.

The research shows that white coaches are older, more likely to have advanced degrees, less likely to have Division I-A playing experience, nearly three times as likely to have a six-figure salary and more than four times as likely to have been interviewed for a head coaching job.

He has established that the establishment is white.

HAWAII COACH June Jones, who is white, said the situation is deplorable, but believes it will change with time.

"I've always felt the numbers are not a true reflection of the men in the game. I grew up in the era of equal rights being a big issue," said Jones, 48. "I've always been conscious of that and my staffs reflect that. It comes down to the people in control, whether they be owners of NFL teams or presidents and athletic directors of schools. I think the more people of my generation who get into those positions, you'll see a reflection of change. But I think a lot of those positions are still held now by people who didn't grow up in the times I grew up."

UH associate head coach George Lumpkin is one of two black coaches and four minorities on the Warriors' 10-man, full-time coaching staff.

Lumpkin has been an assistant at Hawaii for 27 years. He was among seven candidates for UH head coach when Fred vonAppen was hired prior to the 1996 season.

Now, though, Lumpkin said living here is more important to him than pursuing a head coaching position. Over the decades he has mentored several young African-American players and assistant coaches he feels are now qualified for head coaching jobs.

"I think Buzzy and Dino (Babers, at Texas A&M) and Brian Norwood (Penn State) would make excellent head coaches," Lumpkin said of three former UH players. "I think all they need is the opportunity. And I think they will get them. Buzzy and Dino have both been coordinators and Brian is an excellent young coach who knows what he's doing."

Norwood was in demand two years ago when he was looking for a job after stints at Arizona, Navy and Texas Tech. He got calls from Notre Dame, Michigan State and Louisiana State the same week the Nittany Lions interviewed him. He has reason to be confident in his professional abilities, but wonders at times if he will be able to meet his goal of becoming a head coach.

"When you see a lot of guys who look like you on the football field but not in the decision-making realm it makes you wonder why," he said.

BLACKS AREN'T the only under-represented minority among Division I-A head football coaches. While more and more Polynesian athletes are making an impact on college football, Navy offensive coordinator Ken Niumatalolo said he is certain there are no head coaches of Samoan, Hawaiian or Tongan descent.

The 37-year-old classmate of Norwood at Radford High and UH graduate could become the first some day.

"If that does happen, I hope it's because of the quality of my work. My attitude has always been the best person for the job should get it," Niumatalolo said. "The biggest thing for minorities is to make the most of an opportunity once you get it."

He said if there is a stereotype common for black and Polynesian coaches, it has to do with recruiting. Minorities are often used to bring minority players into a program, but are not always involved in actual coaching and strategy, he said.

"I hope other coaches will begin to see us not just as recruiters, but as sound overall football coaches who can do the X's and O's, too," said Niumatalolo, who said he feels appreciated for his overall abilities by Navy head coach Paul Johnson, whom he played for and coached with at UH when Johnson was offensive coordinator here.

SAN JOSE STATE junior safety Gerald Jones, an African-American who grew up without his father, said having a black coach is important to him.

"This is my first time playing for a coach of my race. I think it's a privilege. Many young men need a father figure," Jones said. "Another thing is what Coach Hill has achieved outside of football. His doctorate, he went through war. He's somebody I can look up to. That makes the point that the right qualifications are important to be a head coach. If they don't have them, they don't need to be a head coach."

In a profession where the bottom line is winning and losing, Hill said the final score is even more important for him, Willingham, Tony Samuel (New Mexico State) and Bobby Williams (Michigan State) than it is for their white colleagues.

"My responsibility is like any other coach, to graduate athletes and win games and help men become better men," Hill said. "I'm just another guy, but I am under a microscope. I can handle the scrutiny. It's important for me and the other three to do well so people don't attach unsuccessful programs to African-American coaches."

Hawaii sophomore cornerback Abraham Elimimian said race has never been an issue in his experience with the Warriors, but the low number of black coaches does bother him.

"All I know is a lot of black people play the sport of football, so it's only fair to give them the coaching jobs when they deserve them," Elimimian said. "Notre Dame's coach wasn't the first choice and they're undefeated. We should be past that point in 2002. Discrimination should not be tolerated."

Preston, who said he thinks he would be a head coach by now if he were white, said all the attention Willingham has received for his success at Notre Dame is good, but sometimes tiresome.

"It's kind of a double-edge sword. The numbers speak, there is a problem and it's important to address it," Preston said. "Sometimes it gets overblown and takes away from the team and the players. But the reality is we as a country have not gotten used to talking about race. We sweep it under the rug."

The resurgence of Notre Dame -- college football's most storied program -- under a black head coach has brought the issue to the forefront.

"It has been important to me because part of my philosophy is that there's a greater good, that we're out there to benefit not just yourself, that's important, but to benefit others," Willingham said when he accepted the Fighting Irish job. "So is this significant? Yes. I say it is significant. But I am first and foremost a football coach at the University of Notre Dame."

BACK TO TOP
|

Minority Report There are only four black head coaches in Division I-A. Name, team, record and note. Fitz Hill San Jose State, 4-5 Former Arkansas assistant Tony Samuel New Mexico State, 5-3 Sixth year at Aggies helm Bobby Williams Michigan State, 3-5 First MSU coach to win first two bowls Tyrone Willingham Notre Dame, 8-0 7-year Stanford head coach Rooney will head NFL committee NEW YORK >> Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney will head a new committee designed to ensure that more blacks are interviewed and hired for NFL coaching and front-office positions. "I thought over a way to solve the problem, and I came up with this," said commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who has been searching for new ways to diversify the league. Two-thirds of players are black, but those in management positions are overwhelmingly white. The NFL has been trying for years to increase minority presence at its highest levels. It has intensified its attack on the problem since advocates called a news conference last month to announce they might sue if the league didn't hire more black coaches. Rooney has long been the owner that Tagliabue -- and Pete Rozelle before him -- relied on to solve problems. He said the group would meet soon, so it can come up with proposals in time for the hiring season that begins in January. "We want to do what is the right thing," Rooney said. "And the right thing is to get more minorities involved." Cyrus Mehri, who is heading the group seeking immediate change, said he was happy with the action and with the makeup of the group. "I look at this as a genuinely positive development," he said. "It's important that there are new procedures in place prior to the next hiring season." Other members of the committee will include owners Arthur Blank of Atlanta, Jeffery Lurie of Philadelphia, Pat Bowlen of Denver and Stan Kroenke, a part-owner of the St. Louis Rams. The club executives in the group will include two of the league's highest-ranking black executives: Ozzie Newsome, the vice president for football operations of the Baltimore Ravens and Ray Anderson, chief administrative officer of the Falcons. The others include Bill Polian, president of the Colts; Rich McKay, general manager of the Buccaneers; and Terry Bradway, general manager of the New York Jets. Associated Press