Assistant coach hiring trends: an updated investigation of homologous reproduction in intercollegiate women’s sport

This study sought to update and expand upon previous applications of homologous reproduction in sport through an investigation of assistant coach hiring trends for six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s sports. Similar to previous investigations, this study focused on environments in which women (as a proportion) are both the dominant gender doing the hiring of their subordinate employees (assistant coaches) as well as the minority. We examined the gender representation of assistant coach staff members as a function of head coach gender in six sports (women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, and swimming) across NCAA divisions of competition (I, II, and III). Findings revealed that women head coaches continue to engage in homologous reproduction at higher rates than men. Results suggest that in order to increase the proportions of women head coaches throughout NCAA sport, proportions of all-women and mostly-women assistant coaching staffs must also increase.