Female Coaches and Other Positions in the NCAA: How the NBA Set the Precedent for a Mixed Gender Environment

As an avid NBA fan who loves in-depth analytics, Doris Burke dramatically impacted my perception of women in the sports industry. In an industry dominated by men, particularly former NBA players (addressing Ms. Barcomb referencing the “Old Boy” mentality of sport), Burke became the first female commentator for the New York Knicks. Eventually she was promoted to the ABC/ESPN commentating team for the NBA in 2017. In her presentation, Ms. Barcomb challenged the notion that women are not hired for managerial or front office positions because of their lack of qualification; Burke nearly single-handedly smashed this perception of women in the NBA; The New Yorker journalist David Remnick hailed her to be “the smartest, best prepared, most original on-air voice that the game possesses.” Her famous call about Joel Embiid’s posterizing dunk on Aaron Baynes remains relevant in the minds of both 76er fans and Celtics fans: “this is no phantom of the process but a man of the process.” Ultimately, the NCAA should look at the NBA as a preliminary guide for the successful integration of women into coaching positions and other positions.

The prime example of the NBA’s successful integration of women into coaching is Celtics Assistant Coach Kara Lawson. Minutes after a disappointing playoff exit to the 76ers (the same series with Burke’s famous call), Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens contacted Lawson to see if she was interested in a coaching position. In a season with relatively low expectations after losing star point-guard Kyrie Irving, the Celtics sit in third place in the Eastern Conference. A significant portion of the team’s success can be attributed to the incredible development of its young core, combo forward Jayson Tatum, 21, and slashing swingman Jaylen Brown, 23. Lawson’s coaching has improved both these young players tremendously, giving merit to “There Aren't Many Women Coaching College Sports, Here's Why”’s claim that young athletes perform noticeably better in a mixed-gender environment. Spurs Assistant Coach Becky Hammon has also done well on the main roster since winning the NBA Summer League in 2015. Unfortunately, Hammon arrived during a terrible time for her organization. Franchise cornerstone bigman Tim Duncan retired in 2016, and Gregg Popovich, widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, looks likely to retire in the coming years. While Duncan, the Head Assistant Coach, is the clear heir-apparent for the Head Coach position, many analysts and fans believe that Hammon can assume Duncan’s current position. As Ms. Barcomb stated, “Sports are driven by results”, and many NCAA teams would see significant improvement from a mixed-gender coaching environment.

As well, the NCAA should follow the NBA’s lead with female officials. Currently, the NCAA has one female official in DI Men’s Basketball, Crystal Hogan; the NBA employs four, and the organization plans to hire many more of the coming years. All-star center Andre Drummond praised Ashely Moyer-Gleich, and he welcomed her into the league during one of her first games. NBA Vice President Monty McCutchen asserts that the females referees earned their positions “on merit” despite the NBA’s status as a “progessive organization.” Yet, no such praise has been lauded to NCAA officials. Many frequent viewers claim the calls are “soft” and that they are removing the physical element of the game.

Even though the NBA accomplished tremendous progress for gender inclusion in coaching and other positions, the process is just beginning. By her own emission, Moyer-Gleich said “I never wanted to be a referee. I wanted to be a coach; I think that’s the natural progression of most athletes.” But, the reality of her situation forced her to pursue her passion for basketball through officiating. In relation to the NCAA, where less than half of coaches for female teams are women, the NBA provides the blueprint for the successful integration of women in a variety of positions. Conclusively, female coaches and in other positions consistently perform well, and they bring their organizations a lot of success; the NCAA, a lower level of basketball, needs to implement NBA-style changes quickly, or they will continue to suffer the consequences of a generally worse product.