SAN MATEO, Calif. – With the adoption of the Russell Rule, the West Coast Conference's groundbreaking conference-wide diversity hiring commitment, in August of 2020, the Conference and its membership continue their strong commitment for a more diverse and inclusive environment that supports the student-athletes of the WCC.
 
The Russell Rule, named after WCC and NBA legend Bill Russell, requires the athletic department at each member institution and the Conference office to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coach position.
 
From August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021, the Russell Rule diversity hiring commitment resulted in more than half, 44 out of 84, of the overall hires from a traditionally underrepresented community. Overall, 135 candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities were part of the final candidate pools in those 84 searches.
 
"I am grateful for the efforts of the WCC Presidents' Council for adopting the Russell Rule and for the continued commitment of our membership in focusing on diversity and inclusion on campus," WCC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS OF THE RUSSELL RULE HIRING COMMITMENT IN YEAR ONE 

• 44 candidates (52.4%) among 84 hired are from traditionally underrepresented communities.
• 81 of 84 (96.4%) total hires met the Russell Rule hiring commitment.
• 135 candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities were included in the final candidate pools of the 84 searches.
• In 15 head coach searches, there were nine hires from traditionally underrepresented communities and 19 candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities in the finalist pools.
• In 56 assistant coach searches, there were 86 candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities in the finalist pools. Of the 56 searches, 28 hires are from traditionally underrepresented communities.
• In 13 Senior Staff searches, there were 30 candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities in the finalist pools, leading to seven hires from traditionally underrepresented communities. 

As part of the Russell Rule, the WCC partnered with human rights activist and pioneer for racial equality, Dr. Richard Lapchick, the founder and Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), to develop a race and gender report card on the demographics of the athletic department at each WCC institution and the Conference office.
 
TIDES collected this information and used a proprietary algorithm, along with U.S. Census data, to provide a definitive assessment through the racial and gender report card. ??The 2020 U.S. Census establishes all racial ethnic minorities are 42.2 percent of the population.
 
The 2021 TIDES WCC Racial and Gender Report Card represents the demographics of each institution and the Conference Office on July 31, 2021. The TIDES report card is intended to track the progress of the diversity hiring commitment through a snapshot of the demographics at the end of the hiring cycle.
 
"The TIDES WCC Racial and Gender Report Card is intended to track the impact of the Russell Rule and progress towards creating a more diverse community to support WCC student-athletes," said Dr. James T. Harris, President of the University of San Diego and Chair of the WCC Presidents' Council. "I appreciate the innovation from the Presidents' Council, the Conference, and athletic department leadership on member campuses in adopting the Russell Rule. The WCC champions this important effort as an integral part of providing a holistic and inclusive educational experience for student-athletes."
 
The gender demographic of senior staff at the 10 member institutions and the Conference office overall is 35.0% female. The racial demographic of senior staff includes 19.0% of employees from a traditionally underrepresented community. The WCC's racial demographic for the 10 institutions and the Conference office is higher than the NCAA demographics (18.5%), while the gender demographic is slightly lower than the NCAA demographics (41.2%). 
 
Among head coaches of men's programs that compete in the WCC at the 10 member institutions, 17.5% are from a traditionally underrepresented community. The NCAA demographics list 19% of head coaches of men's teams from a traditionally underrepresented community. Four percent of head coaches of men's teams are female according to the NCAA demographics. In the WCC, 1.8% of the overall group of head coaches of men's teams are female.
 
Among head coaches of women's programs in the WCC, 42.7% are female, compared to the overall NCAA demographics of 41.0%. The racial demographics of this group includes 21.3% from a traditionally underrepresented community, similar to the NCAA demographics that include 21.0% from a traditionally underrepresented community.
 
At least half (51.7% of men's teams and 50.0% of women's teams) of the assistant coaches of both men's and women's basketball programs in the WCC are from a traditionally underrepresented community. That is nearly 10% greater than the NCAA demographics (42.4% of men's teams and 40.1% of women's teams) in both men's and women's basketball. The NCAA percentage of female assistant coaches in men's basketball is 1.0%. There is not currently a female assistant coach for a WCC men's basketball program. In women's basketball, the NCAA percentage of female assistant coaches is 67.1%. In the WCC, 56.7% of assistant coaches in the 10 women's basketball programs are female.
 
"It is important that we are transparent and keep moving forward," Nevarez said. "This report card provides a valuable assessment of where we are as we continue to work towards our goal. There is a steadfast commitment from our leaders on campus in continuing our efforts.
 
For a more detailed report on TIDES' WCC Racial and Gender Report Card, please log on to wccsports.com/RussellRule.