"It has to be a more aggressive effort," saysShropshire. "It wouldn't be that difficult to sayto someone [in person]...to look at all the othergreat benefits of being at an institution likeHarvard."

But Shropshire's suggestion that Harvardrecruiters make a special effort to createpersonal contacts with minority coaches--echoed byother minority coaches in the Ivy League-has notbeen implemented in hiring efforts so far.

According to Johnson, Harvard's contact withthe Black Coaches Association (BCA) is primarilyat the level of the Athletic Director. Clearyrefused comment and the BCA did not return phonecalls for this story, but so far no minority hireshave come out of whatever contact Harvard has withthat organization.

And Harvard's relationship with thehistorically black colleges centers on Hoyte'sattempts to meet black coaches through theadministrators he meets at gatherings ofadministrators. So far, Hoyte says, this also hasnot "borne fruit."

The real answer, according to experts andcoaches alike, is a more aggressive and morepersonal approach to recruiting-going outside theestablished network to find new minority coachesand personally show them what Harvard has tooffer.

The University of Pennsylvania recommendedthese measures in its recent NCAA Self-Study.Harvard did not.

Consider the case of Tall, who moved crosstownfrom Northeastern to fill the vacancy at defensivecoordinator created by Mark Harriman's departurefor a head coaching position at Bates.

Not only did Tall have the opportunity to makea campus visit and to meet with Murphy's staff,but Tall sought an athletics program in Harvard'smold.

"Harvard isn't the highest-paying, but it'sbetter than many others," Tall says. "And thebalancing of academics with athletics, that'salways what I've looked for. I liked theopportunity to be around student-athletes."

With two years' experience in the Ivy Leagueunder his belt--Tall spent the 1986 and 1987seasons in assistant coaching roles atCornell--Tall was no stranger to the unique roleof an Ivy coach.

In every circumstance, Tall surmounted theconcerns that most minority coaches have aboutjoining a program like Harvard's. His willingnessto join Murphy's staff was serendipitous, buthardly a way to set policy for the future.

And both Murphy and Tall convey the impressionthat the entire hiring procedure was race-blind,Tall even going so far as to comment that "the jobwas attractive because it was one of the few forwhich I was interviewed not just because I was aminority."

On the one hand, this approach is laudable.Murphy hired a top-notch coach who, happily, wasalso a minority. But on the other, it reinforcesthe uncomfortable conviction that Harvard, despitepromises to the contrary, is not making anyminority-specific efforts to hire new staff.

Conclusions

It is tempting to believe that Harvard is notentirely to blame for its deficiency in minorityhires.