NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University Senior Associate Athletic Director Randale Richmond was one of 35 FBS athletic administrators that created a white paper document with actionable recommendations to create more diverse senior leadership in collegiate athletics.
"I am thankful that Dr. Selig passed my name along as it was a great honor to serve on this Working Group with so many impressive and dedicated colleagues and friends. There are great organizational benefits to cultivating and encouraging diversity of leadership, thoughts, backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs," Richmond said. "I am really hopeful that these action items provide current industry leaders with the tools to get involved and implement change that will provide equal opportunities for leadership, which in turn, will grow us closer and better together as an industry for young people."
The paper was created by LEAD1's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group, co-chaired by Sean Frazier, the Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics at Northern Illinois University, and Dr. China Jude, the Senior Associate AD and SWA at the University of Wyoming, which LEAD1 created in late August 2020. The paper, on behalf of the working group, is addressed to all stakeholders in FBS college sports including all conferences, institutions, the NCAA, the College Football Playoff (CFP), relevant search firms, and others. The paper has already been endorsed by the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA).
The white paper document outlines an actionable plan for FBS college sports to help create more opportunities for people of color to advance through the ranks, thereby increasing diverse senior leadership in FBS college sports. Some of the paper's notable recommendations include:
- Tethering diversity hiring to financial incentives, particularly through employment contracts within the enterprise;
- Creating a highly selective, year-round, diversity program that can help sponsor more diverse senior-level candidates;
- Grading relevant search firms based on their annual success in presenting a diverse pool of candidates to institutions;
- Adding a layer of attestation, through the NCAA, with respect to college sports leaders receiving requisite training related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly regarding implicit bias; and
- Giving the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID), typically within FBS athletics departments, the power to influence and shape policies across campus.
Click here to read the document.