Silcox | Leveling the playing field

Since Jackie Robinson took to Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, diamonds, courts, gridirons and greens have grown to become a place where merit, and not race, is the primary qualification. Leading the way, long before Robinson was even born, was Penn and the Ivy League.

In 1895, the Penn Relay Carnival opened its gates for the first time — to blacks and whites alike — as the first meet or organization of its type to accept black entries.

And this Ivy League tradition of equality has not missed a beat in the 115 years since.

With the midseason addition of Penn’s Jerome Allen, six of the eight Ivy League men’s head basketball coaches are black, a staggeringly high percentage compared to the rest of the nation.

A 2008 study from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport found that only 22.9 percent of all NCAA Divison I basketball coaches are black.

Outside of basketball, however, the numbers aren’t so hot. Most notably, only four coaches out of 119 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams are black.

But much like in basketball, the Ivy League stands out.

Norries Wilson, the first black Ivy football coach, was hired by Columbia four years ago. This year, Tom Williams at Yale became the second.

When Sports Illustrated released its 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports, twelve were from the Ivy League.

Among those listed was former Penn men’s basketball coach Craig Littlepage. Under his leadership, the Quakers won the Ivy League title in 1985 and earned an NCAA tournament berth.

Division I athletics as a whole needs to take a hint from the Ivies. Some of the nation’s greatest college athletes have been minorities. As our talented alumni return from professional careers to take on coaching roles, they must be considered for top positions in the system.

It seems that every year, sports minds debate the need for affirmative action in coaching positions. The NFL’s Rooney Rule is one byproduct of the discussion.

The rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching position, is a step in the right direction. But it’s unclear how much the rule actually has affected the hiring of minorities.

Yesterday we paused for Martin Luther King Jr. Day to honor a man who pushed for equality on all fronts. Let’s continue to level the playing field in collegiate athletics. Let’s focus on merit — not just on the court, but on the sidelines as well.

CALDER SILCOX is a sophomore science, technology and society major from Washington, D.C., and is Sports Editor-elect of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is silcox@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.