The Tucker Center's Annual Report: Swimming's Progress in Women's Coaching
The University of Minnesota's Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport recently unveiled its 13th annual Women in College Coaching Report Card, shedding light on the progress and challenges in women's coaching across various sports. Swimming, one of the seven tracked sports, has shown significant improvement, but there's still work to be done.
In the 2024-2025 season, women head coaches led 29.2% of women's swimming teams, earning a 'D' grade on the Center's scale. This marks a remarkable improvement from the previous season, where only 23.9% of programs were led by women, resulting in an 'F' grade. The 'Select Seven' conferences, comprising 94 schools and 65 women's swimming & diving programs, were analyzed in this report.
The report emphasizes that the underrepresentation of women coaches is not the issue; it's a symptom of a deeper problem. The real challenge lies in a societal and sports culture that fails to value, support, and provide opportunities for women. Since 2021, the report has noted a steady rise in women leading women's programs, with the percentage now at 47.7%, up from around 41-42% in the 2010s.
Sports like acrobatics & tumbling and wrestling boast 100% women head coaches, while fencing, swimming & diving, cross country, and track & field lag with only 10-20% women coaches. Diving, in particular, received an 'F' with just 13.1% women head coaches, a trend mirrored in other sports with shared coaching roles.
On the positive side, lacrosse, field hockey, softball, equestrian, and golf received 'A' grades, with lacrosse leading at 97.1% women head coaches. The report also evaluates conferences and institutions, with the Big Ten leading the way, while the SEC and Big 12 continue to rank lower.
Notable hires include 12-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres at Boston College, Tamber McAllister at BYU, Blaire Bachman at Texas A&M, and Hollie Bonewit-Cron at Penn State, all replacing male coaches. This progress is a testament to the growing recognition of women's coaching expertise.
The report's author, Braden Keith, is the Editor-in-Chief of SwimSwam.com, a platform dedicated to covering swimming news and analysis. Keith's work aims to highlight the advancements and challenges in women's coaching, inspiring further progress in the sports world.
