Would a 'Rooney Rule' Help Minorities in NCAA Football?

Would a 'Rooney Rule' Help Minorities in NCAA Football? At www.fannation.com/si_blogs, Arash Markazi suggests the NCAA should adopt a rule similar to the 'Rooney Rule' in the NFL. The rule is intended to give minority coaches more interview opportunities for head coaching jobs in the NFL. The recent resignations/firings of Ty Willingham, Ron Prince, and Sylvester Croom have reduce the number of NCAA minority coaches to 3; Randy Shannon of Miami, Kevin Sumlin of Houston, and Turner Gill at Buffalo. But would a 'Rooney Rule' help more black coaches become head coaches at the Bowl Subdivision(former Division 1-A) level?

First, the NCAA cannot adopt such a rule. The NCAA is an association of not-for-profit organizations, and as such, cannot legally compel its members to make any hiring decisions. The NFL, as a for-profit organization, is governed under different laws.

Second, if such a rule were possible, it would not necessarily result in more black head coaches. Schools are still going to hire the candidates they think are going to give them the most wins, and best represent the school to the alumni and the public. Any official rule would force schools to interview minorities, but would only result in similar situations such as the Detroit Lions.

When the Lions wanted to hire Steve Mariucci as their next head coach, they could not get any minority candidates to interview for the job. The Lions were still required to interview minorities, but available coaches knew it was a token interview, and refused the request. In the end, the Lions hired Mariucci without interviewing any minorities.

So how can the NCAA improve minority hiring for head coaches? The solution may rest with coaches such as Shannon, and Gill, as well as Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith.