Indianapolis — When 13 college football coaching positions opened, the Black Coaches Assn. believed it had an opportunity to make a difference.
But after mailing information on more than 50 candidates and contacting each school with an opening, the BCA was surprised when only one black coach Tyrone Willingham was hired.
On Monday, the BCA expressed its dismay during the last full day of the NCAA convention.
"One of the arguments we continued to hear was that we would certainly have entertained interviewing someone if we had known about them," said Floyd Keith, executive director of the BCA. "So we sent a list to every Division I-A president and athletic director. If you're doing your homework, you would research that list."
Keith was joined at the news conference by representatives of the Minority Opportunities Athletics Assn. and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
The group leaders said they were not satisfied with the results of the BCA's effort to promote black coaches.
Willingham, who moved from Stanford to Notre Dame, was the only black coach hired. He was replaced at Stanford by former Florida assistant Buddy Teevens, who is white.
In addition, one other black coach Louisiana-Lafayette's Jerry Baldwin was fired after going 6-27 in three seasons.
That leaves only four black head coaches Willingham, Michigan State's Bobby Williams, San Jose State's Fitz Hill and New Mexico State's Tony Samuel among major college's 115 programs.
Keith also alluded to a couple of hirings that troubled him.
"We are disappointed that individuals are getting second and third chances and that some are coming from the XFL and the junior college ranks," he said.
Last week, Indiana hired Gerry DiNardo, who coached for nine seasons at LSU and Vanderbilt before spending last season with Birmingham of the XFL.
In December, San Diego State hired Tom Craft, hours after he announced his withdrawal because "he wasn't 100 percent excited about the commitment it would take." Craft was the head coach at Palomar Junior College, which is in northern San Diego County.
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