ASU Law MSLB faculty partner with Women Leaders in Sports to publish NCAA research findings

Women Leaders in Sports (Women Leaders), in collaboration with Distinguished Professor of Practice Glenn Wong and Assistant Teaching Professor Stephanie Jarvis, from the Allan “Bud” Selig Master of Sports Law and Business program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU Law), are excited to make public their updated research findings on the career trajectory of NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III athletic directors.

Women Leaders began this partnership with ASU Law in 2017 to better understand the hiring trends and career characteristics of men and women administrators who are hired to athletic director jobs across all NCAA Divisions. Specifically, both parties aimed to learn more about the paths, education and experience levels attributed to those hires before they landed the designated position of athletic director.
 
"As the NCAA model evolves and undergoes significant change, it’s a good sign we continue to see increases made in the hiring of females and minorities for the increasingly critical role of athletic director,” Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in Sports, said. “Although the increases in 2024 were not as significant as in the recent past, the five-year trends still show the needle is moving in a positive direction. This important research helps our organization form its leadership development programming throughout the year, and the insights help prepare and position our women leader members for advancement.”

The Allan "Bud" Selig Sports Law and Business Program at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, is proud to collaborate with Women Leaders in Sports by sharing its research and expertise.

“We are once again proud to present our research to Women Leaders in Sports.  We know how useful data can be in driving decisions and we hope that aspiring athletics directors can use the research to help guide their professional and educational choices.  We also hope presidents are able to use the information to continue to diversify their candidate pools when making these critical leadership hires.” Wong and Jarvis said.

The data used in this research was strictly compiled from public data and reflects only readily available information from each institution’s website and additional online resources. Wong and his team navigated hundreds of websites to collect information on all current athletic directors in every NCAA division. The data gathering process is reflective of all athletic directors hired prior to April 30, 2024. Any changes to personnel in those roles after that date will be recorded in next year’s report.

The following research update (2024) provides reporting on trends across all three NCAA divisions. Women Leaders in Sports continues to use this information to supplement its existing leadership institute curriculum and provide members key insights on career experience to best position themselves for future advancement.

Summary of Updated Hiring Trends for Athletic Directors:

Division I Trends

• The number of female Division I ADs increased from 50 to 57 in the last year. The number of female ADs at the “Power 5” level increased from 6 to 9 in the last year. In 2024, there are 362 Division I institutions.
• There are eight less African American DI athletic directors this year compared to last year.
• 84.3% of DI athletic directors hold a graduate degree, a decrease of 5.9% from last year.
• Since last year’s report, the number of DI athletic directors with master’s degrees increased by 16 and ADs with an MBA decreased by 1.
• The number of DI athletic directors with a JD increased by 2 and the number that held a PhD/EdD increased by 4.
• The average age of DI athletic directors in 2024 is 52.1 years old, an 0.7-year increase from last year.
• DI athletic directors with coaching experience slightly decreased from 24.6% in 2023 to 21.7% in 2024.
• The number of Division I athletic directors with collegiate student-athlete experience increased by one in the last year.
• Minority representation decreased overall by 1.3% in 2024, while female minority representation decreased by 0.9%.
• Athletic fundraising remained the most common track for Division I ADs to their current role.

Division II Trends

• The number of female Division II ADs decreased from 78 to 76 in the last year. There are 300 Division II institutions in 2024.
• There are two more African American DII athletic directors this year compared to last year.
• Minority representation increased overall by 1.3% in 2024, while female minority representation also increased by 0.7%.
• 84.0% of DII athletic directors hold a graduate degree, a decrease of 0.5% from last year.
• Since last year’s report, the number of D2 athletic directors with master’s degrees decreased by 16.
• The average age of DII athletic directors in 2024 is 51.9 years-old, a 0.5-year decrease from last year.
• DII athletic directors with coaching experience decreased from 59.4% in 2023 to 57.9% in 2024.
• The number of Division II athletic directors with collegiate student-athlete experience decreased by seven in the last year.
• Athletic fundraising remained the most common track for Division II ADs to their current role.

Division III Trends

• The number of female Division III ADs increased from 152 to 154. There are 442 Division III institutions in 2024.
• There are two more African American DIII athletic directors this year compared to last year.
• Minority representation increased overall by 0.1% in 2024, while female minority representation increased by 1.8%.
• 83% of DIII athletic directors hold a graduate degree, a 0.6% decrease from last year.
• Since last year’s report, the number of DIII athletic directors with master’s degrees decreased by 1 and ADs with an MBA decreased by 1.
• The average age of DIII athletic directors in 2024 is 51.2 years old, a 0.4%-year increase from last year.
• DIII athletic directors with coaching experience slightly decreased from 67.9% in 2023 to 67.2% in 2024.
• The number of Division III athletic directors with collegiate student-athlete experience decreased by one in the last year.
• Operations/facilities remained the most common track for Division III ADs to their current role.

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