By Charles Farmer
Contributing Columnist
Columbus Post

The NCAA encourages its members to review the employment process for hiring coaches and athletic administrators to ensure that all qualified candidates have equal opportunities to apply for positions when they become available.
Recent studies show alarming disparities in college athletics where there is a lack of true diversity in coaching and administrative positions.
“ What we don’t have is a variety of diverse talented, superb coaches brought into the informal networks of athletic directors and others who are making the final recommendations. We need to find a way to open up that closed circle,” NCAA President Myles Brand told the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
In the interest of creating a level playing field for all athletic coaches and administrators seeking employment opportunities, Copious Technologies, LLC has created a new product that addresses the hiring issue and can educate potential candidates of the scope of the search requirements.
The Copious Sports Information Network (CSIN) is an innovative approach to developing and maintaining a comprehensive real-time database for intercollegiate coaches and athletic directors to store and enhance their resume/portfolio packages. It is a mechanism for connecting job candidates, prospective employers, and job listings together in one utility.
CSIN is a systematic approach to delivering high quality resumé and portfolio packages that allows coaches, administrators and search firms to share or acquire information instantaneously.
The task of compiling a career portfolio can be difficult for coaches who often find themselves juggling the demands of their profession which include: practice, games, recruiting, public appearances, and developing strategy for games among other duties.
This web-based solution could simplify the process and significantly increase information distribution efficiencies for these individuals; the product has the ability to create multiple records that are readily available when needed for updates or changes quite easily.
“ We have to change the status quo and provide more opportunities for all qualified candidates (including women and minorities) in a fair and open hiring process,” said Jennifer Alley, Executive Director, National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators in the NCAA’s Best Hiring Practices manual.
For administrators, the CSIN product can provide an effective way to identify quality candidates from a broad talent pool which may be outside the traditional boundaries of current search processes.
“ All parties involved in the process must know what resources to use to find viable candidates who can diversify the candidate pool. Furthermore, they must take the time to develop and maintain candidate lists for future vacancies. This preparation pays dividends in the future,” explained Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association in the Best Hiring Practices manual.
The CSIN product is focused on three important goals:
• Delivering a unique web based opportunity for coaches to create a real time comprehensive and professional online resume and career portfolio for hiring institutions to review.
• Educating coaches and aspiring athletic administrators on the scope of what the resume and portfolio package should contain.
• Providing athletic directors, head coaches and search professionals with a platform to conduct faster, broader and more inclusive employment searches.
“ Currently, when institutions state that a comprehensive and diverse search was conducted, there is no way to verify what criteria were used. A solution like CSIN, sponsored by an institution, can provide that data through an objective and measurable vehicle. Geographic boundaries and the communication of openings and searches are limitless through the CSIN application,” remarked Ron Jones, CEO, the Copious Group, LLC.
While the NCAA and other organizations like the BCA cannot force their members to use a product like CSIN, one would think if this web-based portal can assist in serving as a gateway to simplifying the hiring process while at the same time creating a more level playing field that these entities would be inclined to endorse it.
Interested parties can find out more by visiting www.copioussports.com.

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