Volleyball Championship Between Penn State And Louisville Will Crown First Woman Head Coach

Sunday will mark a significant moment for women’s sports as the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship between Louisville and Penn State will, for the first time in its 43-year history, crown a woman head coach as champion.

NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship details:

• Date: Sunday, Dec. 22
• Time: 3 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC

Both finalists represent the changing face of collegiate volleyball leadership. Dani Busboom Kelly has built Louisville into a powerhouse program with NCAA Tournament appearances in all eight seasons, while Katie Schumacher-Cawley has quickly established herself at Penn State, reaching the Final Four in just her third season. Dr. Janelle Wells, a former collegiate volleyball player and coach, emphasized the significance of this moment: “This isn’t just a historical moment, we’re experiencing historical momentous shifts in the landscape of sport and leadership. As a former collegiate volleyball player and coach now developing the next gen of sport leaders as a professor, 25 years ago I could only dream of the possibilities.”

Since the championship’s inception in 1981, the trophy has been exclusively lifted by men head coaches. The data tells a striking story; of the 43 previous championships, legendary coaches like Russ Rose (7 titles), John Dunning (5 titles), and Don Shaw (4 titles) have maintained a grip on the sport’s highest feat. Therefore, as Louisville’s Dani Busboom Kelly and Penn State’s Katie Schumacher-Cawley prepare to face off, this guaranteed milestone prompts both celebration and serious reflection on the systemic barriers that have kept women from reaching this achievement for over four decades.

The Pipeline Problem: A Numbers Game

The path to leadership in collegiate volleyball reveals a troubling pattern of gender disparity. Across all three NCAA divisions, the proportion of women assistant coaches has experienced declines since 2014, dropping from 56.7% to an alarming 49.4% during the 2017-2018 athletic season. Dips in the proportion of women assistant coaches over the years is particularly concerning when compared to men’s sports, where men maintain the majority of assistant coaching positions.

This disparity also creates a problematic pipeline issue. With fewer women in assistant coaching roles, the pool of experienced candidates for head coaching positions naturally shrinks. The data is also particularly concerning when examining career progression. Specifically, women assistant coaches have reported higher occupational turnover intentions than their men counterparts, with many leaving the profession before reaching highest leadership positions. This turnover is often driven by what researchers have described as destructive leadership environments and damaging workplace cultures that disproportionately impact women coaches.

The Institutional Barriers: Beyond the Numbers

The research paints a similarly concerning picture when examining the institutional barriers women face. Studies have found that women in men gender-typed occupations, such as coaching, often face penalties for their successes, documenting how women in leadership positions face unique challenges that their men counterparts don’t encounter. Within NCAA athletics, women coaches report experiencing significantly different treatment in key career advancement areas. Research out of the Women’s Sport Foundation has found that 65% of coaches believed men had an easier time gaining top-level coaching jobs, while 75% reported men had advantages in negotiating salary increases.

Further, previous research has revealed that women assistant coaches frequently experience cultures of destructive leadership, where traditional masculine leadership styles are favored and rewarded, although there is no evidence to support that these masculine styles lead to higher rates of success. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle where women either adapt to these masculine leadership norms or face career stagnation. Research has also shown that even when women achieve assistant coaching positions, they score lower than men regarding their intentions and attitudes toward obtaining head coaching roles in the future. This suggests that the barriers women face are not just impacting how they get their foot in the door. Instead, the barriers are also impacting women coaches in their ability to survive and thrive in environments that often feel hostile to their leadership styles and work-life priorities.

Looking Forward

Sunday’s championship represents an important potential shift in collegiate athletics leadership. Research suggests that increasing the visibility of women in leadership positions can create a positive feedback loop, encouraging more women to pursue coaching careers and helping to break down traditional barriers. To continue this progress, experts suggest several key areas of focus:

• Increased investment in women’s sports at all levels
• Development of mentorship programs for female coaches
• Reform of hiring practices to eliminate gender bias
• Enhanced support systems for work-life balance

According to Dr. Wells, “To continue writing the script, we need to pave the path of opportunities with women coaches at every level of play, media producers advocating more, brands and partnership deals with volleyball athletes, coaches, teams, and leagues, former players picking up those balls again to coach or teach, and all of us taking our kids, nieces/nephews, neighbors to go and watch the new professional women’s volleyball leagues.” Regardless of which team wins the women’s volleyball championship this Sunday, women’s sports will have achieved a long-overdue milestone – and the focus should now shift to how the industry can ensure this breakthrough represents the beginning of a new era rather than an isolated achievement.