The following article is adapted from The Pipeline Project: 2024 Employment Overview, NCAA Football Bowl Subdivisions, the full text of which is available here.
In 2023, only 36% of sport supervisors in FBS athletic departments were women. Of that group, only 16% of football and men’s basketball programs in Power 4 conferences had a woman sport supervisor.
Why does this matter?
Well, let’s start at the top. The athletic director (AD) “pipeline” often refers to the pathway for individuals to progress from entry-level roles to assistant AD and associate AD. Individuals holding specific positions such as budgeting, external affairs (e.g., fundraising and advancement, facilities/capital projects, sales/sponsorship) and supervisory responsibility are perceived to be more likely to achieve the Athletic Director chair because the skill sets associated with senior-level administration are more transferable to the AD position. This also includes the valued role of sport supervisor, deemed critical to leadership advancement, where the supervision of revenue-generating sports – specifically football and men’s basketball – are sought after skills for the AD. This data suggests women are systematically underrepresented and continue to encounter barriers in the pipeline for advancement in intercollegiate athletic departments.
Athletic departments have experienced exponential growth over the last decade with more than 1,000 new assistant and associate AD positions across FBS athletic departments with an 80% increase in assistant AD roles and an 43% in associate AD positions. Yet, women’s representation remained stagnate. In 2015, women held 29.7% of assistant AD roles and 25% of associate AD roles. By 2024, those numbers have risen to 35% and 31%, respectively. While this shows progress— women have gained around 6% in both categories— these increases are still modest compared to the overall growth of the positions. Moreover, only 11.7% of FBS athletic departments are led by women.
With the growth of intercollegiate athletic departments and new roles within departments, there are more opportunities for women in athletic department administration and leadership than ever before. Many athletic departments have allocated resources to new areas like name, image, and likeness; sport performance and sport science; and mental health services and performance. However, the industry must recognize the current leaks and be willing and intentional in creating opportunities to repair the current leaks and prevent future leaks.
The Pipeline Project
The Pipeline Project provides an in-depth look at how men and women are distributed across athletic department roles (excluding head coaches and coaching staffs) with specific emphasis on managerial progression and job areas associated with a pipeline to athletic department leadership. A key goal of this annual project is to uncover “leaks” in the talent pipeline, where women are systematically underrepresented or encounter barriers to advancement. These leaks occur both within specific job areas and at critical career stages (entry-level, mid-level tier I and II, and executive roles), underscoring a broader issue of gender equity in college sports leadership.
The Pipeline Project analyzed data for all NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions designated as Power 4 and Group of 5 in 2022-23 to better understand how and where women are represented in intercollegiate athletic department staff structures and leadership. The representation of women throughout athletic departments is critical to understand the career trajectories of women and the representation of women in college athletics.
The career stages of staff and administrators working in intercollegiate athletics were categorized as entry-level, mid-level tier II, mid-level tier I, and executive (see table below). Given there is only one Athletic Director for every institution and there are often multiple administrators involved in the decision-making process for the athletic department, our research included the Athletic Director, variations of Associate Athletic Director (e.g., senior, deputy, executive), and the Senior Woman Administrator as executive positions in the department.
What Did We Find?
According to the data (see table below), overall, women comprise 38% of staff and administrative roles in intercollegiate athletic departments. However, of the 19 departments areas observed in the Pipeline Project, women only occupy more than 50% of staff and athletic administrators roles in five areas:
- The business office
- Campus recreation
- Compliance
- Student athlete services
- Travel departments
The other 14 department areas are male-dominant, all exceeding 70% of male athletic administrators, within:
- Buildings and grounds/facilities
- Communications
- Corporate sales and sponsorships
- Technology support
- Ticket sales
Interestingly, women make up 44% of entry level positions, suggesting initial accessibility to athletics administration is strong (see table below). However, across the FBS, women’s representation drops to 33% (a 12% decline) when moving from an entry-level role to an early managerial role in middle tier II. Thus, identifying one of the first leaks in the pipeline – from entry-level to mid-level II positions like assistant director of marketing and director of ticketing.
To take things more granular, we also looked at Power 4 and Group of 5 conferences separately. In our research, we found women represent more than 50% of entry-level employees in three Group of 5 conference (i.e., Sunbelt at 53%, Mid-American at 53%, and American Athletic at 51%). However, these conferences also see declines between 18 to 30% in the representation of women from entry-level to middle tier II (i.e., Sunbelt at 18%, Mid-American at 28%, and American Athletic at 30%). In other words, fewer women are advancing to early middle management positions, which in turn, limits their advancement opportunities to more senior positions.
Interestingly, while women appear to move less (or more slowly) from entry-level (44%) to mid-tier II positions (assistant director, facility manager) across FBS, women’s proportional representation increases from mid-tier II (32%) to mid-tier I (40%) positions, which include the positions such as assistant athletic director or senior director. One potential factor that could account for this is the number of positions. There are more executive level positions in Power 4 (2,268) athletic departments than Group of 5 (867), and women are more represented in these positions in Power 4 (34%) when compared to Group of 5 (30%).
So, What Next?
Women representation declines significantly as they move through the administrative ranks, raising concerns about barriers to advancement and lack of representation in decision making. Research has found factors such as limited access to leadership development opportunities, poor supervisor support, lack of opportunities for growth and development, unequal career progression pathways, and gendered expectations around work-life balance may contribute to this disparity. Other studies suggest women may choose to remain in areas rather than seek advancement because their responsibilities are more in line with their values, work-life balance, and life priorities.
The Pipeline Project not only provides a holistic view of gender representation and career growth in intercollegiate athletics, but also gives insight into how this data can be used. For athletic administrators, we recommend identifying leaks in the pipeline and paying attention to turnover within their department. We also recommend building and repairing the pipeline by offering and encouraging professional development for supervisors, clarifying roles, defining job expectations, and succession planning. Entry and middle level professionals may use this data to provide insight into their own career development. It also showcases how these professionals can balance their career aspirations, and the realities faced within their work environment. Current students should be aware of the challenges they face when seeking entry into the workplace. This project encourages students to seek mentorship and plan for long term success.
The Pipeline Project is not just for intercollegiate athletics leadership, but for all industry employees. It provides athletic administrators, professional organizations, and sports managers with data-driven insights into gender representation, employment trends, and action steps to build a strong leadership pipeline. Athletic department and industry leaders can identify gaps and develop strategies to create more inclusive and equitable pathways for women.
You can download the full project at the-pipeline-project.org.