[BostonCard]

[quote author=ChicagoVisitor link=topic=13851.msg145543#msg145543 date=1449224589]
African-Americans are obviously highly represented as players, and not as coaches, but over time now Pacific Islanders have become a large minority. For example the Utah head coach commented earlier this year that his players are roughly 1/3 white, 1/3 African-American and a 1/3 Pacific Islander.

That proportion at Utah is partly a function of the large extent to which Pacific Islanders (other than Hawaii) are Mormon.
[/quote]

True, but it's a good point that as much as we talk about disproportionately few African American coaches, there are probably disproportionately fewer Pacific Islander coaches.  I'm not sure that there is data on the proportion of college football players of Pacific Islander descent (it clearly overrepresents the population at large), and while it isn't 1/3, it is probably a significant minority.

Part of the phenomenon may be that Pacific Islanders coming to play college football is a relatively recent phenomenon, so former players haven't gone through the process of becoming graduate assistants, position coaches, and then head coaches.  So, I have a feeling we will see more PI coaches coming through the pipeline.  But it is worth noting that while the focus tends to be on underrepresented African American coaches, there are other racial/ethnic groups that are overrepresented among players and underrepsresented in the coaching staffs.

BC

[BostonCard]

[quote author=ChicagoVisitor link=topic=13851.msg145543#msg145543 date=1449224589]
African-Americans are obviously highly represented as players, and not as coaches, but over time now Pacific Islanders have become a large minority. For example the Utah head coach commented earlier this year that his players are roughly 1/3 white, 1/3 African-American and a 1/3 Pacific Islander.

That proportion at Utah is partly a function of the large extent to which Pacific Islanders (other than Hawaii) are Mormon.
[/quote]

True, but it's a good point that as much as we talk about disproportionately few African American coaches, there are probably disproportionately fewer Pacific Islander coaches.  I'm not sure that there is data on the proportion of college football players of Pacific Islander descent (it clearly overrepresents the population at large), and while it isn't 1/3, it is probably a significant minority.

Part of the phenomenon may be that Pacific Islanders coming to play college football is a relatively recent phenomenon, so former players haven't gone through the process of becoming graduate assistants, position coaches, and then head coaches.  So, I have a feeling we will see more PI coaches coming through the pipeline.  But it is worth noting that while the focus tends to be on underrepresented African American coaches, there are other racial/ethnic groups that are overrepresented among players and underrepsresented in the coaching staffs.

BC