The University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center each year releases a report on women in college coaching positions. The 13th edition of the report, published last week, examines the distribution of female coaching staff in seven NCAA D-I conferences.
The report, in collaboration with WeCOACH, hopes to improve the career landscape for women in athletics. What began as a way to create discussions around gender equality in the coaches’ office has grown to track hiring trends, challenge norms and guide female coaches in their careers.
The University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center each year releases a report on women in college coaching positions. The 13th edition of the report, published last week, examines the distribution of female coaching staff in seven NCAA D-I conferences.
The report, in collaboration with WeCOACH, hopes to improve the career landscape for women in athletics. What began as a way to create discussions around gender equality in the coaches’ office has grown to track hiring trends, challenge norms and guide female coaches in their careers.
In the 2024-25 school year, 47.7% of women’s college sports teams were coached by female coaches. That is a 5.5% increase from the first year of the Tucker Center’s study in 2012. Researchers believe that this statistic could increase further due to coach turnover rates. According to the study, 11.3% of women’s team head coaching positions turned over in one academic year, but less than half of those open positions were later filled by women.
The sports with the highest percentage of female coaches include wrestling, lacrosse, softball, field hockey, golf, and acrobatics and tumbling. Meanwhile, the sports with the least female coaches leading women’s teams include cross country, diving and fencing.
The Tucker Center’s report goes on to ‘grade’ all 94 institutions on the percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams. Said the report, “Based on the percentage of women head coaches of women's teams, 9 of 94 (9.6%) institutions received an A grade, 26 institutions (27.7%) received a B grade, 27 institutions (28.7%) received a C, and 29 institutions (30.9%) received a D. Three institutions (3.2%) received a failing grade of F.”
To ‘fail’ the Tucker Center’s study, colleges must have had fewer than 24% of head coaching positions of women’s teams filled by women.
The overall best university for women coaching female teams was the University of Central Florida. At UCF, 88.9% of women’s teams were coached by women.
“We are thrilled to see the trajectory of women in coaching continuing to trend in a positive direction,” said Vanessa Fuchs, CEO of WeCOACH. “This progress reflects a growing acknowledgment of the critical contributions women bring to the coaching profession and the tangible steps being taken to address gender equity. While there is still work to be done, these findings inspire hope and affirm the importance of continued advocacy, support, and investment in creating spaces where women coaches can thrive. Together, we are shaping a future where opportunity and representation are truly equitable in every sport and level.”
