Product description

Crackback!
How College Football Blindsides the Hopes of Black Coaches
by Dr. Fitzgerald Hill with Mark Purdy

Every Saturday in the autumn, millions of Americans watch college football. They visit leafy campuses, tailgate with friends, and then sit down to enjoy one of the country's oldest and most beloved sporting traditions. They also witness one of the country's most visible tableaus of racial inequity.

Some 120 colleges and universities field teams in the NCAA's top tier of the sport, known as the Football Bowl Subdivision. But only a small fraction of those teams are coached by African-Americans or other minorities. Yet there seems to be little focus on this issue in today's society, even from the African-American community itself. Why is it that the National Football League has advanced so much farther in giving opportunities to minority coaches?

Dr. Fitzgerald Hill, along with award-winning sportswriter, Mark Purdy, attack the racial dynamics of the important Crackback! syndrome, in which minority coaches are led to believe they actually do have a fair chance at every job opening—only to be blindsided at the last minute by hidden forces that undermine their dreams. There is hope for the future, but first we have to be willing to look closely at a sensitive topic. That is why Crackback! is necessary for everyone, especially college football fans—of any color or team.

344 pages - $25.99 (paperback)