New NCAA Report on the Role of Senior Woman Administrators in Athletic Departments

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently released a report on senior woman administrators (SWA) in athletic departments at colleges and universities. The SWA role was created in 1981 to encourage meaningful involvement of female administrators in the decision-making process in intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA does not require that colleges and universities designate a SWA.

The designation of a SWA is intended to enhance representation of female experience and perspective at the institutional, conference and national levels. The NCAA hired a consulting firm to conduct a study on the status of SWAs at colleges and universities. The primary purpose of the study was to identify opportunities to enhance the impact of the designation and the experience of women serving as SWAs.

Here are some of the key findings included in the report:

• Only 59 percent of SWA said that they are engaged in the decision-making process at the institutional level. But more than 70 percent of the athletic directors said their SWA was involved in the making the most important decisions.
• Only 46 percent of SWA said they were involved in financial decision-making.
• Some 84 percent of SWAs said that without the SWA designation there would be no women in important athletic posts at their college or university. Only 56 percent of athletic directors agreed.

The full report, Optimization of the Senior Woman Administrator Designation, may be downloaded by clicking here.