Going from assistant to head job remains a tough climb for Black coaches in top men’s conferences

By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer

Black coaches in the top six men’s college basketball leagues are still facing a tough climb in going from assistant to the head job. An analysis by The Associated Press found Blacks holding 59.4% of assistant jobs in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences for the 2022-23 season. But the head-coach rate stood at just 29.9%. Richard Lapchick is founder of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. He says the percentage of Black coaches holding head jobs across all of Division I has largely been stagnant around 25% going back decades.