Central College is receiving a Tara VanDerveer Fund for the Advancement of Women in Coaching grant from the Women’s Sports Foundation. Grants were awarded to institutions to support collegiate women coaches on the rise, assisting with living expenses, professional development and mentorship. Central is among 10 universities and colleges to receive the grants, which are designated for women coaching fellows in a wide variety of women’s sports.
Selected to serve as Fellow is Essance Porter, who is in her second season as assistant women’s basketball coach at Central as junior varsity coach. Porter played at Simpson College, competing in 19 games for her career. Porter has served as an instructor at multiple girls’ basketball camps and was also a summer YMCA camp leader in Waco, Texas.
“We are proud to be a part of the fifth cohort of recipients for the Tara VanDerveer Fund for the Advancement of Women in Coaching,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator/Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Equity in Athletics/Compliance Officer Alicia O’Brien. “As one of 10 colleges in the country to receive this distinction, we have the opportunity to support assistant women’s basketball coach Essance Porter as she continues her development as a coach and leader in our women’s basketball program. As a WSF Fellow, Essance will have opportunities to learn from experienced coaches, network with colleagues and receive funding to attend professional development events. Perhaps as important is the message we are sending to our female student-athletes, giving them the chance to see and work with women in coaching positions at the collegiate level. The WSF is committed to addressing the gender equity issues in coaching and we are honored to be a part of that commitment.”
Since Title IX’s passage, the percentage of women in collegiate coaching roles has declined by more than 50%. During the 1970-71 academic year, 90% of women’s college teams had women as head coaches. Fast forward to the 2021-22 academic year, where women held only 41% of head coaching positions in women’s NCAA sports. BIPOC women, who have historically been under-represented in the coaching ranks, held only 7% of head coaching roles in women’s NCAA sports. In the same year, only 28% of all NCAA assistant coaches were women, with only 7% of all assistant coaches for men’s and women’s teams being BIPOC women.
According to the data, there is a lack of representation in coaching positions throughout the country; WSF is addressing this by growing the pipeline at the collegiate level by awarding grants from the VanDerveer Fund. Throughout the grant year, WSF implements a program for VanDerveer Fellows that opens doors to mentoring opportunities with coaches and leaders in the collegiate space, including a call with Tara VanDerveer and invitations to workshops addressing topics to help aspiring women coaches thrive in today’s collegiate sports landscape.
The Fund has seen success and has made an impact during its short lifespan. Out of the first four classes, 25 VanDerveer Fellows continue to lead in coaching roles, six have stepped into head coaching positions and four have used their fellowship experience to secure jobs in a sports-related field.
“We at the Women’s Sports Foundation know that building a strong pipeline for women in leadership is vital to ensure the sports ecosystem for girls and women continues to grow on and off the field of play,” said WSF CEO Danette Leighton. “When girls and young women have powerful role models to look up to, such as coaches and beyond, it empowers them to keep playing and strive to reach their own full potential. That is why we are determined to continue our work to close the coaching gender gap with this important Fund that honors Tara VanDerveer’s history-making legacy.”
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