Women surveyed by Carpenter and Acosta indicated that the strength of the "old boys' club" network--and a correspondingly weak women's network--was the chief reason for the decline of women coaches and administrators.

Men, however, pinpointed a lack of qualified female coaches and administrators as top reasons for the decrease. With men making most of the hiring decisions, this perception has fed the current trend.

"Female involvement in sports is much more accepted than in the past," Carpenter says. "Therefore, you would think that the leaders would be more accepted. But they are a lot more alone than they used to be."

"Now there are so few women coaching that you just don't see the role models, and so women are not encouraged to go into coaching," Sweetser says. "It becomes a cycle."

And the women coaches who still retain powerful leadership roles are often given negative stereotypes for exhibiting traits widely accepted in males.

"Women coaches who are tough and work you hard are seen in a negative light," Sweetser says. "But if a man works you hard in practice, he's seen as a good coach."

Before Title IX, women's athletic programs were small in number and short on participants. But it was rare to find a male coach or administrator in the system.

Seventeen years later, women leaders in college athletics have become the rare commodity.