Source: UA Newsroom
Under Armour’s partnership with the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches finds long-term opportunities for coaches of all backgrounds. The new partnership seeks to bring more diversity, equity, and inclusion to football. NCMFC is a resource and ally for meaningful diversity and inclusion in coaching. Under Armour and the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches are at the forefront of leveling the playing field for good.
Bluzy under armour tech zip heads up HBCU Jackson State University. He recently earned the opportunity to interview for the head coaching position at TCU. This is an important step for arguably the greatest cornerback in the history of the NFL. It’s a rare opportunity however. HCBU legends have long built powerhouse programs without the facilities and opportunities as their in-state counterparts. A coach like Eddie Robinson was a fixture at Grambling and is considered one of the greatest coaches in history. He would have never landed the job at LSU. HBCU’s produced great players like Walter Payton, Steve McNair and countless other NFL athletes. Those same players have often returned to their alma maters, like Doug Williams, but those great NFL athletes are often overlooked for coaching positions at the highest levels from pro to Division 1 coaching jobs.
Which makes Coach Prime Time’s interview at TCU an important moment for coaches at HBCUs and Black coaches everywhere. The funnel to the multi-million dollar contracts at the Power 5 flow between what can be considered a “good old boys” network. Coaches can cheat, on their wives, on recruitment, and still land positions at major SEC schools, while players who competed at the highest level would never be considered for jobs in the Power 5, although as one of the members of the NCMFC, Josh Gattis, OC and Wide Receivers coach at the University of Michigan, states:
One of the biggest roadblocks I see is minority coaches assigned as recruiters. They’re not given credit for player development or on-field schematic strengths. This is extremely challenging at the collegiate level. There, a big part of the job is recruiting a higher percentage of minority athletes. Mostly white coaching staff will lean on minority coaches to relate to families of color. It’s critical that young minority coaches are more than recruiting tools. They deserve appreciation for their true coaching abilities.
During the pandemic Coach Locksley, head coach at Under Armour sponsored University of Maryland, launched the NCMFC. While Deion Sanders isn’t mentioned as a member, he took his endorsement of Under Armour to Jackson State, and is now landing a shot with TCU. Under Armour’s support of this coalition is critical. If you use the source link at the lead of this story and click through to read the data on hiring for Black coaches, it’s not surprising. What is interesting is the pivot Under Armour has made from where the company stood a few years ago:
Under Armour Can’t Sustain The Same Blow Nike Has | Under Armour’s #METOO Moment – WSJ
In 2018, I wrote the following quote in the article linked above, “Now that the covers have been taken off of the brand and the world has been exposed to Under Armour’s culture of acceleration for both women and Blacks, the brand will not be able to overcome this without a drastic change for the company. I expect that in the next week as the stock price begins to bleed value, UA will have to make a move more extreme than Nike firing Trevor Edwards. There will have to be a top down adjustment. Unfortunately, the fact is the firings won’t fix the problems that lie at the root of the issues for UA. The company that was born after Nike, adidas, New Balance and is the youngest in all of the major footwear and apparel companies in the industry decided to abandon the built in opportunity of being born in the 90s. Under Armour chose to function like every company seeking to capitalize on the Black dollar; Under Armour created an atmosphere that says ‘use them in the ads and marketing, but don’t let them in the door to solve problems and give the company a true access to culture.”
With the support of the NCMFC, Under Armour is making the changes needed for long term positioning in the sneaker industry; and they are doing so without screaming or promoting the work. They are utilizing the motto of their biggest competitor and just doing better.