In Defense of Debbie Yow | Sports in Stilettos

There’s been a lot of drama surrounding the University of Maryland basketball program in the past week, particularly regarding a rumored rift between longtime men’s basketball coach Gary Williams and longtime athletic director Debbie Yow. With Maryland’s win over Miami on Saturday, followed by Yow’s public statement of support for Williams, it seems all the turmoil has settled – at least for now.

As I watched the story unfold via ESPN’s Bottom Line, I was particularly struck by one phrase: “Maryland AD Debbie Yow.” And yes, it did roll by about six times before I really grasped what it meant: in title, at least, Yow is the most powerful person in the Maryland department. In fact, the October 2007 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education named her one of the Ten Most Powerful People in Higher Athletics.(link)

How many other women are athletic directors? A quick Google search didn’t offer any comprehensive lists, but among the schools eligible for automatic BCS bowls in football, only three have female ADs (Yow, Lisa Love of Arizona State, and Sandy Barbour at Cal). Several schools have women in charge of the women’s sports, but for a woman to be the overall athletic director? It’s quite an unusual feat.

Part of the dearth of women in top athletic administrative positions likely stems from the Ol’ Boys Club mentality that’s still so prevalent in many sports. If the majority of athletic directors are drawn from the ranks of former football and basketball coaches (Yow coached basketball), women are obviously at a disadvantage. And if it takes a mini-maelstrom at UMd to call attention to the lack of women in the field, then perhaps last week's catfights were good for more than just a distraction during the workday.

Nothing against Williams – Gary's a great coach even if I think he might be a bit scary in person – but regardless of your opinion of Yow’s management of the program over the years, she’s compiled an astounding list of accomplishments. She must be doing something right. You don’t keep a job in D-I athletics for 15 years – especially not if you’re a woman – unless you know what you’re doing. (Just as Gary Williams wouldn’t still be coaching in College Park after 20 years if he wasn’t damn good at it.)

I haven’t followed Md. basketball long enough to take sides, but I’m happy that, for now, Yow and Williams have smoothed over their differences, at least in public. Maryland Terrapins basketball might “need” Gary Williams, but young girls and women interested in busting the athletic department’s glass ceiling need strong female role models like Debbie Yow.

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February 8, 2009 01:55 AM ET

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Nothing has been smoothed over between his surliness and Ms. Yow. Maryland will never regain national prominence until a new coach adorns the bench at the Comcast Center.