Russell Rule “It is my hope the West Coast Conference initiative will encourage other leagues and schools to make similar commitments. We need to be intentional if we’re going to make real change for people of color in leadership positions in college athletics." - Bill Russell

RUSSELL RULE

Since the August 2020 adoption of the West Coast Conference’s Russell Rule, the WCC’s groundbreaking conference-wide diversity hiring commitment, the Conference and the membership continue to work towards achieving the goal of a more diverse and inclusive environment.

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. 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 an annual race and gender report card on the demographics of the athletic department at each WCC institution and the Conference office.

THE RACE AND GENDER REPORT CARD (TIDES)

TIDES collected information on the demographics of WCC institutions and the Conference office from August through July. The 2021 WCC Racial and Gender Report Card, prepared by TIDES, represents the demographics of each institution on July 31, 2021.

The TIDES Racial and Gender Report Card is the definitive assessment of hiring practices of women and people of color in most of the leading professional and amateur sports and sporting organizations in the United States. Using TIDES' proprietary algorithm, the report considers the composition – assessed by racial and gender makeup – of players/student-athletes, coaches and front office/athletic department employees in our country’s leading sports organizations, including the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and collegiate athletics departments. TIDES produces its Racial and Gender Report Card independently of these organizations. As part of its adoption of the Russell Rule in 2020, the WCC partnered with TIDES to produce the Racial and Gender Report Card for the Conference.

The 2020 U.S. Census establishes all racial ethnic minorities are 42.2 percent of the population. In addition to TIDES' proprietary algorithm, the TIDES Racial and Gender Report Cards reflect the racial and gender demographics of the country.

RUSSELL RULE COMMITMENT

There is a steadfast commitment to bringing forward a diverse candidate pool in hiring practices with the adoption of the Russell Rule in August of 2020. From August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021, the commitment has resulted in more than half of the 84 hires from an underrepresented community. Overall, 81 of the 84 hires met the Russell Rule hiring commitment and 135 candidates from underrepresented communities were part of the final candidate pools. This reflects the unwavering commitment of the Presidents’ Council and athletic department leadership towards reaching our goal that the diversity of our student-athletes is reflected in those that lead and mentor them and provides a holistic and inclusive education during their time at WCC institutions.