Women's Experiences as Division I Head Coaches of Men's Teams

Purpose: Acosta and Carpenter's (2008) most recent report investigating the lack of women coaches at the collegiate level suggests approximately 2% of men's teams are coached by a female. Yet, over 57% of women's teams are coached by a male at the collegiate level. This drastic inequality is partially due to the privileging of males within collegiate athletics and the public perception that a good coach is male (Kamphoff, 2006). Few studies have focused solely on women as head coaches of men's team (Yiamouyiannis, 2007). Of those that have been conducted, two have examined the high school level (Kane & Stangl, 1991; Straurowsky, 1990) with little emphasis at the college level (Yiamouyiannis, 2007). A more in-depth examination of women's experiences coaching men is needed to gain a better understanding of the subject if changes are to be made to increase opportunities for women coaches. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the findings of semi-structured interviews conducted with Division I female coaches who coach a men's team.

Methods: Fifteen women were interviewed over the phone about their experiences coaching men and how they received their coaching position. Phone interviews were used in order to reach women throughout the country and each interview was transcribed verbatim.

Analysis/Results: Using a descriptive analytic strategy, the process of indexing was used to analyze the transcripts (Mason, 2002). After a comprehensive and extensive analysis of the interview transcripts, six general themes emerged: 1) Barriers experienced by women when coaching men, 2) Obtainment of their position coaching men, 3) Women coach only men's minor sports, 4) Characteristics contributing to their success coaching men, 5) The lack of women coaching men, and 6) Strategies for change.

Conclusions: In general, the women that coached men at the Division I level were extremely decorated athletes, many competing at the Olympic and professional levels. Yet, many of the women stated that it is only acceptable for women to coach certain men's sports (e.g., men's minor sports) and it was clear that the women experienced discrimination and gender bias while coaching men. Quotes from the women will be given to illustrate the findings and practical implications will also be discussed.