Holy Cross Athletics Receives "A" in Minority Hiring Practices

WORCESTER, Mass. – The football program at the College of the Holy Cross is one of eight Division I schools receiving a grade of "A" from the Black Coaches Association (www.bcasports.org) on its minority hiring practices.

BCA evaluated a total of 28 schools that conducted a search for a head football coach in the past year. The association evaluation looked at, among other aspects, the percentage of minorities involved in the hiring process; the number of minority candidates who received interviews; and whether the process followed the institution's affirmative action hiring policy.

Commenting on the report, Holy Cross Athletic Director Richard Regan said: "One has to commend the leadership of the Black Coaches Association. It is staggering to consider how under-represented African-Americans are as head football coaches. I didn't realize the full extent of it until I saw their report."

Of the 28 schools who conducted searches for head football coaches, only one (Mississippi State) hired an African-American coach. Holy Cross named Tom Gilmore, formerly the assistant coach at Lehigh, head football coach of the Crusaders in December 2003, following a one-month search.

The Report Card is a new initiative of the BCA, which intends to announce grades each of the next two years, then plans to expand the report card to include the hiring practices of athletic department administrators.

"The Report Card is a very innovative idea and I believe it will be an effective one as well," said Regan. "If the process is followed, it can only increase head coaching opportunities for African-Americans. To fail in such a process was, for us, unthinkable."