WSU conducts diversified search
PULLMAN – As Washington State moves forward in its search to replace football coach Bill Doba, the school is taking steps to ensure a diversified process.
“It was an understanding of an acceptance of a responsibility,” said Ken Casavant, WSU’s faculty athletic representative and head of the school’s advisory committee on the hire, “by (athletic director) Jim (Sterk) and the advisory committee that goes right along with us.”
The past four years, the Black Coaches and Administrators has contracted with the Paul Robeson Research Center to survey NCAA Division I hiring practices as they relate to football coaches. The results of the surveys are released in the form of a report card.
Schools are given grades in five areas: communication with the BCA or the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interest committee; the time taken in the selection process; the diverse nature of the selection committee; interviewing a diverse pool of candidates; and following the university’s affirmative action policies. Bonus points are given for hiring a coach of color.
In the 2006-07 study, 23 Football Bowl Subdivision schools were graded. The organization awarded nine A grades, six B, three C, one D and four F. The University of Idaho earned a C for its hiring of Robb Akey.
Washington State seems to be following the BCA guidelines. Not only has the school contacted the organization, it has:
“Cast a wide net for candidates and contacted a handful of qualified minority candidates.
“Put together a five-person advisory committee that includes two minority members.
“Followed the university’s affirmative action criteria, according to Casavant.
“Taken its time in filling the position.
Sterk pledged the day the school parted ways with Doba to follow a process that would cast as wide a net as possible.
According to the BCA office, the organization forwarded a list of candidates to WSU, a list Casavant said mirrored one already put together.
“In our meeting with Jim, we identified that we contacted the BCA and they sent their list to us of African American or minority candidates,” Casavant said. “It was very similar to the list that had been developed by Jim Sterk already.”
The advisory committee initially perused a candidate list of more than 80 names, according to Casavant, many of whom were people of color. Since then, the list has been pared quite a bit.
“All I can say is that there certainly is,” Casavant said when asked if the list still reflected a diverse pool of candidates. “I don’t know the specific number. We’ve talked about the last 12 or 15, and I know there is a significant number, it’s significant in that case, it would be at least three or four or five who were African-American or folks of color.”
The committee Casavant chairs consists of “myself and one other faculty member,” Casavant said, “who, if you don’t mind at this time, I hope is not necessary to name, just because of the calls they’ll get.”
Besides the two faculty members, there is also a member of the football team, along with an alum who is “let’s just say, a known donor,” to the athletic department, and a WSU Foundation representative from the West Side. Two are African-American and one is female, according to Casavant. Doba also serves as an advisor to the advisory committee, “about the industry and he’s speaking and working directly with Jim.” Bill Moos has been hired by the university as a consultant and has been contacting candidates on behalf of the university.
“Our mission is to advise Jim from the perspectives of the individual members of the committee what characteristics we want in a coach,” Casavant said. “Other than that, as he brings candidates forward, talks about them, we will respond, give our reaction, e.g. our advice, to those individual candidates. … We will be meeting with that candidate, then providing to Jim our evaluations, concerns, strengths, warts, so on of that candidate.”
The decision who to bring to campus will be made by Sterk and the athletic administration, Casavant said. The final decision, Sterk said at the Doba press conference, will be his in consultation with school president Elson S. Floyd.
“In this case a winnowing committee is probably not what we are. We are an advisory committee,” Casavant said, explaining in academia a search committee often examines the qualifications of say 50 candidates, calls and talks with about 15, forwards the name of two or three to the hiring official, “and then they go ahead and make their choice.
“In this case, because of the peculiarities of the coaching establishment, it just makes more sense to have the A.D. and the senior administration be doing that winnowing and then we respond and evaluate the results and the process itself as it goes along.”
All this is being done with an eye on the university’s affirmative-action guidelines.
“I’ve been around for 40 years,” Casavant said, “and other members of the committee have been around, so we’re very knowledgeable of it in the process and we are on top of it.”
It’s a process in which president Floyd is not intimately involved.
“I visited with him very briefly, and most of his interaction, if there is much at this stage, and I don’t think there is much at this stage, is with Jim Sterk and maybe with (assistant athletic director) John Johnson and the senior administration folks,” Casavant said of Floyd’s role.
The process is taking time.
“You and I both would not be surprised if it takes another week, two weeks, three weeks, nor if we have somebody by Thursday afternoon at 4 o’clock,” Casavant said.