BleedGopher
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per Rowland:
The announcement in 1990 carried historical significance.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino hired Bernadette Mattox, the first female assistant coach on an NCAA Division I men’s college basketball staff.
Three decades later, little has changed. Mattox might have broken a glass ceiling, but it has been repaired and boarded up in the past 30 years. Exactly three other women have been a Division I men’s assistant since Mattox was hired, and there’s currently only one — Maine’s Edniesha Curry — the same number as 1990.
So, why has college basketball been resistant — or at least skeptical — to hiring female assistants?
“That’s a great question,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. “I think a lot of times it starts at the highest level, and now you’re seeing it happen more often. It’s only a matter of time before it trickles down into college basketball.”
Richard Pitino, the head coach at Minnesota and the son of Rick Pitino, believes multiple female assistants in men’s college basketball is only a matter of time. As a lifelong fan of the sport, Pitino has seen women who would have undoubtedly been successful as men’s coaches but were either never given the chance or didn’t pursue an opportunity, stressing that the game is evolving in a positive direction.
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Go Gophers!!
The announcement in 1990 carried historical significance.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino hired Bernadette Mattox, the first female assistant coach on an NCAA Division I men’s college basketball staff.
Three decades later, little has changed. Mattox might have broken a glass ceiling, but it has been repaired and boarded up in the past 30 years. Exactly three other women have been a Division I men’s assistant since Mattox was hired, and there’s currently only one — Maine’s Edniesha Curry — the same number as 1990.
So, why has college basketball been resistant — or at least skeptical — to hiring female assistants?
“That’s a great question,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. “I think a lot of times it starts at the highest level, and now you’re seeing it happen more often. It’s only a matter of time before it trickles down into college basketball.”
Richard Pitino, the head coach at Minnesota and the son of Rick Pitino, believes multiple female assistants in men’s college basketball is only a matter of time. As a lifelong fan of the sport, Pitino has seen women who would have undoubtedly been successful as men’s coaches but were either never given the chance or didn’t pursue an opportunity, stressing that the game is evolving in a positive direction.

Why so few female assistant coaches in men's college basketball?
The announcement in 1990 carried historical significance. Kentucky coach Rick Pitino hired Bernadette Mattox, the first female assistant coach on an NCAA ...

Go Gophers!!