BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released a graph detailing the percentage of head coaching changes in men’s and women’s Division I athletics during the 2016-17 academic year.
A total of 13% of Division I teams experienced a head coaching change in 2016-17 with similar turnover rates for both men’s and women’s programs.
In women’s sports, water polo tops the list with 21% of programs experiencing a head coaching change. Beach volleyball (19%), rowing (19%), gymnastics (16%) and bowling (15%) account for the remainder of the Top Five. Field hockey (14%), cross country (13%), soccer (13%), basketball (12%), volleyball (12%), ice hockey (11%), swimming & diving (11%), tennis (11%), golf (10%), softball (10%), track & field (10%) and lacrosse (7%) round out the women’s sports.
Among men’s sports, water polo comes in third from last at 8% to rate above lacrosse (7%) and volleyball (5%). Football bowl series (FBS) tops the percentage of coaching changes at 19%, while wrestling (16%), ice hockey (15%), basketball (14%) and football championship series (14%) account for the rest of the Top Five. Gymnastics (13%), baseball (12%), cross country (12%), swimming & diving (12%), golf (11%), tennis (11%), soccer (10%) and track & field (9%) account for the remainder of sports with higher turnover percentages than water polo, lacrosse and volleyball.
