Every day, UCLA head football coach Karl Dorrell goes through the same routine as any other Division I-A football coach. He watches film, runs practice and talks to the media.

Except Dorrell has one added responsibility. He is one of just four black coaches in I-A football and the only black coach to be hired this past offseason, meaning he must pave the way for other black coaches.

That leaves 113 schools that don’t have black head coaches. The apparent lack of equality has led the Black Coaches Association to begin evaluating the hiring processes of every I-A school.

The BCA will release report cards for every institution by next fall and has a goal of 20 percent of newly hired coaches being minorities.

‘It really still comes down to you doing you’re job,’ Dorrell said. ‘I’m very proud that I’m representing my race, but it still comes down to doing the job. If it benefits someone else, then that’s great.’

The BCA plans to grade schools on several categories. The categories include the percentage of minorities involved in the hiring process, the number of minority candidates interviewed and the length of the search process. A school can receive a maximum of 24 points under the grading system.

At Syracuse, four members of the football staff – defensive backs coach Todd Littlejohn, running backs coach David Walker, Director of Football Operations Reggie Terry and Coordinator of Academic Support for Football Scott Freeney – are black.

Seemingly, this would mean good scores for SU when the report cards come out. Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel believes that hiring is done properly, and all candidates are evaluated equally regardless of skin color. Ultimately, he said, a coach is hired or not hired based on his experience and qualifications.

‘I doubt very much that qualified (black) candidates are being passed over because of their race,’ Crouthamel said. ‘That’s certainly not the case here.’

Walker and Littlejohn have slightly different perspectives on the issue. Walker believes that in order to get blacks into head coaching positions, more blacks need to fill offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator positions. He also believes that more blacks need to be represented in administration as athletics directors and school presidents.

‘It’s the progress of the coordinators we have to look at,’ Walker said. ‘Those guys are going to be the next head coaches. If you’re not a coordinator, it’s hard to become a head coach unless you move to a smaller school.’

Littlejohn compared the situation to the issue of black quarterbacks. He said in the past, blacks were considered ‘too dumb’ to play such a skilled position. That stereotype disappeared somewhat with the play of quarterbacks like Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham. Now, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Dante Culpepper have revolutionized the position, first in college and now in the NFL. Littlejohn feels that if more blacks are given opportunities, their coaching status could be revolutionized as well.

One practice that the NFL uses in order to improve the minority coaching situation is to force a team to interview at least one minority candidate for an open coaching position. But many coaches ignore this opportunity because they see it only as a token interview.

‘It’s a nice idea, but at times, that’s just a token interview,’ Littlejohn said. ‘Sometimes you see the writing on the wall and coaches turn down the interview. On the other hand, you’d hate to turn it down because you hope you can go in and change someone’s mind.’

Crouthamel believes the programs the NFL has are helping the situation. He said because of larger budgets, NFL teams can hire more minority assistant coaches so they can gain on-field experience. He said this is not always possible in tight-budgeted college situations. He also believes the NFL tends to take the NCAA’s best minority coaches.

‘You can do all the training programs you want,’ Crouthamel said. ‘But you learn to coach on the field.’

Another issue is the comfort level of players. Walker said that in some cases, the color of the coach and player are irrelevant, but in other situations, it makes a player more comfortable.

Walker said that at Syracuse, because of the presence of several prominent blacks in the football program, black players have an easier time approaching someone.

‘Sometimes it’s important for a young man to see someone who looks like him,’ Walker said. ‘Whether it’s a black player with a black coach or a white player with a white coach. It’s good that when the players have problems, there’s someone for them to talk to.’

Said SU fullback Thump Belton: ‘It doesn’t really make a difference to me because my position coach is a black coach. It doesn’t make a difference. A good coach is a good coach. Some would rather have a black coach, but not me.’

As the BCA grades schools, the problem becomes how to reverse this trend. Beside Dorrell, the only other black coaches in I-A are Notre Dame’s Tyrone Willingham, San Jose State’s Fitz Hill and New Mexico State’s Tony Samuel.

Clearly the ratio of black players in the college game isn’t equal to that of black coaches. According to Michigan professor Keith Harrison, who conducted a preliminary estimate of schools’ grades, 50 percent of college football players are black while only 5 percent of coaches are minorities.

BCA executive director Floyd Keith told the AP he hopes athletes will use the report card to help make their college choice. He also said the BCA would consider legal action in 2005 if low-achieving schools’ results don’t improve.

‘Everybody has a different philosophy from institution to institution,’ Dorrell said. ‘I would love to see a greater representation of minority coaches. It’s all about exposure. Even just talking like we’re doing now will help the problem.’

No. 12 Nebraska at No. 16 Texas (-5.5)

Noon, ABC

Both the Huskers and Longhorns are coming off shutout victories last weekend. The re-emergence of Nebraska continues to surprise people. The Huskers lead the Big 12’s North Division and need this one to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game and challenging Oklahoma.

Pick: Nebraska 27, Texas 23

No. 11 Michigan (-4) at No. 9 Michigan State

12:10 p.m., ABC

The Spartans and quarterback Jeff Smoker continue to be one of the biggest surprises in college football. But with a road victory, the Wolverines would pass Michigan State and take over first place in the Big Ten. Don’t look for that to happen, as Michigan has dropped four of five on the road to the Spartans.

Pick: Michigan St. 24, Michigan 10

No. 14 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Oklahoma (-16)

3:30 p.m., ABC

In yet another game with a conference title up for grabs, the Cowboys look to upset the Sooners for the third straight year. It’s the first time both teams have been ranked while playing since 1988. An Oklahoma State win would push the Cowboys pass Oklahoma for the top spot in the Big 12 South Division. This one will play out close, but the Sooners are on their way to a national title

Pick: Oklahoma 34, Oklahoma State 22

No. 6 Washington State at No. 3 USC (-12)

7 p.m., ABC

The Trojans will look to exact revenge for last year’s 30-27 Cougars victory, which kept USC out of the Rose Bowl. The come-from-behind win gave Washington State the Pacific-10 Conference title. The Cougars, whose only misstep was an overtime loss against Notre Dame, narrowly escaped last week. They came back to defeat Oregon State, 36-30. Both teams are still in the national-title hunt, but look for the Trojans pay back the Cougars.

Pick: USC 30, Washington State 20

No. 2 Miami (-3.5) at No. 10 Virginia Tech

7:45 p.m., ESPN

The Hokies come in off last week’s stunning 28-7 loss to West Virginia. Still, this game could be close despite Tech’s loss. The ‘Canes had not won in Blacksburg before narrowly escaping, 26-24, in 2001, the year Miami won a national championship. The Hokies can either bounce back from last week or sulk. Look for them to pull off a huge upset.

Pick: Virginia Tech 19, Miami 13

Published on October 29, 2003 at 12:00 pm