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COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Women athletic directors thriving in Maine

With numbers on rise nationally, Maine already has 5 ADs statewide

By Travis Lazarczyk tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Marcella Zalot has attended the NCAA convention for the past 17, 18 years.

"It used to be, you'd walk in the room, it's all men in blue blazers and khaki pants," Zalot, Colby College's athletic director, said. "Now, it seems to be more women and people of color."

According to the Women's Sports Foundation, there were 171 female athletic directors in 2000, and 188 in 1998. According to figures provided by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, there are currently 205 women athletic directors in the NCAA. That works out to just more than 18 percent of all athletic directors.

In Maine, however, the number spikes. Five of the athletic directors at the state's dozen NCAA member schools are women.

Along with Zalot, there's Deb Biche at Thomas College, Julie Davis at the University of Maine at Farmington, Husson University's Cindy Connelley and Kim Allen at the University of New England. The University of Maine, the state's lone Division I school, formerly had a female athletic director in Suzanne Tyler, who stepped down in 2002.

All five of Maine's women ADs work at Division III schools. Nationwide, Division III has the most female representation, with 125 of 448 athletic directors (27.9 percent) being women. At Division I, the number is just 9.5 percent (33 of 347). Forty-seven of 321 Division II athletic directors are women (14.6 percent).

Maine's women athletic directors see a few reasons the percentages are so much better at Division III than Division I. First, with no athletic scholarships in Division III, athletic programs are run on a different model.

"It's not a business model, it's an education model, and for women, it's a natural fit," Davis said. "Having some experience in Division I, so much is spectator- and money-driven."

Zalot said the Division I athletic director's time is spent more dealing with fundraising than the day-to-day operations of the department.

"A lot of alums you're fundraising from are men in their 40s and 50s, at their peak earning potential," Zalot said. "My guess is there is some hesitancy for those people to deal with a woman."

When Zalot worked at Harvard University as an assistant athletic director, she said she and the other staff members ran the department. While the athletic director had the final say on most matters, much of his time was spent stumping for donations.

Zalot, Davis and Biche each has been involved in collegiate athletics for two decades or more, as an athlete, coach or administrator. Each said they've seen more opportunities for women emerge through the years.

"When I started, windows were much more open," Biche said.

In 1995, Davis was a member of the first National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and Higher Education Resource Service (NACWAA/HERS) Institute for Administrative Advancement class. The class is designed to help women with interests in athletic administration get training and networking contacts.

The class has received significant funding from the NCAA, Davis said. In 2002, NACWAA/HERS began offering two classes each year, one in the East and one in the West.

Zalot earned her master's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in sports management in 1990. Three years ago, UMass began a mentoring program in the sports management program. Both students mentored by Zalot have been women.

For many, advancement means moving. An Ohio native, Davis has worked in West Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.

After graduating from Plymouth State, Biche -- a Waterville native -- spent time at St. Joseph's College in Standish and St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. At St. Joe's, Biche said she was the first full-time female staff member in the athletic department.

"At St. Lawrence, we were given quite a few opportunities to work in administration," Biche said.

A graduate of Smith College, Zalot worked at the NCAA offices in Overland Park, Kan., before coming back East to Harvard in 1992.

"You have to be willing to move," Davis said. "But that's true of either gender."

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com