Destiny of women as athletics leaders: choice or chance? (In Her Own Words).

Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance," said William Jennings Bryant. Surely a catchy slogan, but not one that rings true for many women administrators in intercollegiate athletics.

So we gathered together to figure out why--14 of us "on the cusp" of a breakthrough in the job market. All were in senior management/leadership positions in our respective schools: experienced, articulate, capable, and ostensibly seeking that top AD job in a major university.

The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) hosted the four-day Institute for Athletics Executives in July 2002. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) funded it through a grant to NACWAA for leadership development targeted at women.

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"Women are losing the game," said Bob Beaudine, CEO of the executive search firm Eastman and Beaudine.

"Why?" he asked rhetorically. "Because you're not even in the game. You can't win the game if you're not on the field." He broke down the 'Why does someone hire you?' question into two moronically simple answers: First, he says, you get hired for a job because the person doing the hiring likes you. Second, you solve their solution.

Weighing these two factors at 80% and 20% respectively, Beaudine said women don't get into the major job hunts because no one knows us. "If they don't know you, they can't like you, so they don't know you can solve their problem. Your problem is not skills or experience. I have read your bios. You have both. Your problem is no one knows you."