"Recruited athletes ask about minorityorganizations on campus, and the lack of minoritycoaches and athletes probably has hurt," Johnsonsaid. "If [recruits] research Harvard, they'llprobably find that they could be satisfied here,but it depends on their background. If they'recoming from an all-black neighborhood or all-blackeducational experience, they're going to be putoff."

Explanations

Among the most compelling reasons for thisfailure seems Harvard's relative unattractivenessto an already small pool of minority applicantsfor Division I coaching positions.

With minority coaches at a premium in thecollegiate ranks, the most qualified candidatesare choosy, and Harvard does not measure up.

Black coaches, so the reasoning goes, aregenerally few in number and highly in demand, forthe same reasons Harvard wishes it had moreminority coaches player welfare, diversity and acommitment to equity.

This means minority coaches are able to be moreselective about the programs they choose to workfor.

And Ivy League schools, with no athleticscholarships, far less visibility and far smallersalaries than larger colleges and pro sportsteams, simply can't compete in this seller'scareer market.

Harvard's hiring efforts will also do little toovercome the University's--and the IvyLeague's--sometimes unfavorable reputation in theminority coaching community.

In 1995, the Ivy voted to limit the number offull-time assistants on football coaching staffsfrom six to five. As often happening indownsizing, the most recent hires-many of whomwere minorities-were the first to be let go ordemoted to part-time status.

This record of job insecurity gives minoritiesstill less reason to go out on a limb and take acoaching position anywhere in the league.

For candidates with designs on professionalcoaching jobs, Harvard is less a leg up than alayover. Since coaching positions at top DivisionI schools often preface professional positions,minority coaches--who are more coveted in the prosthan in the NCAA--are even less likely to turn toHarvard as a viable option without compensatoryincentive. That incentive, it seems, Harvard isunable or unwilling to provide.

"Because minority coaches are so sought-after,as soon as you get good, you get raided, you moveup," says Art Taylor, director of urban youthsports at the Center for the Study of Sport inSociety. "[An Ivy School] is not really a steppingstone. [If you're an Ivy school], you've got tolook for someone who wants to be at this level."

The University uses this explanationextensively in a recent self-study of the athleticprogram completed as required for NCAAcertification, and University officials draw onthe same diagnosis.

"Important as athletics are here, academics aremore important," says Dean of the College Harry R.Lewis '68 in an e-mail message. "While this canput us at a disadvantage in [minority coach]recruiting efforts, we are not apologetic aboutit: It is simply a fact of life at Harvard."

Upon replacing Joe Restic four years ago,Murphy attempted to bring two black coaches fromhis staff at Cincinnati to Harvard. But bothassistants--Lou West and Bruce Ivory--declinedbecause their Harvard offers were financially lesscompetitive.