Posted on 07/26/2025 8:53:22 AM PDT by george76
Diversity is a ‘core value’ but Minnesota State Mankato won’t share with the public what an ‘equity lens’ in coaching means
When Minnesota State University-Mankato defensive linemen hit tackling dummies and run sprints this summer, they will do so under the watchful eye of a coach with an “equity lens.”
But how exactly the coaching staff defines “equity” and “anti-racism” remains shrouded in mystery, since the school denied a College Fix request to view submitted diversity statements.
The Fix requested copies of the diversity statements submitted by its defensive assistant coaching applicants as required by a May job posting.
The public university listed “[d]emonstrated ability to serve a diverse population and apply an equity lens, including social justice and/or anti-racism, to the role,” as a “minimum” qualification for the job.
The university previously told The Fix “the employee hiring process reflects the University’s vision, which includes improving a diverse community and world, and its core values, which includes ‘diversity in who we are and what we do,’” when asked about a chemistry professor job opening.
For this coaching position, the school listed “ability to coach and teach highly-talented student-athletes to succeed in a challenging academic environment,” as a “preferred” qualification.
But taxpayers and the general public may never learn what any of these terms mean to applicants and the hired coach.
“The data you are requesting in your attached data request is classified as private data as per Minn. Stat. 13.43, Subd. 3 & 4, and not subject to release under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act,” Sheri Sargent, the designated public records officer and the chief of staff to the university president, wrote back to The Fix.
She subsequently denied an amended request to provide the diversity statements with the names of applicants removed.
The state of Minnesota will not be helping out with public transparency either; it denied a request to issue an advisory opinion on whether someone’s background in diversity would fall under public data. The state code specifically states the “education and training” background of applicants is public.
Coach Mitchell Collicott, who the university hired under its latest job posting, also would not share how specifically he applies an “equity lens” and “anti-racism” to coaching.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, he said he would respond to previous requests for comment sent in the past week via email. The special teams coordinator and defensive line coach has yet to respond, however.
...
The decision to hide the diversity statements from the public did draw criticism from Phil Bell, an ambassador for Project 21, which promotes conservatism in black communities. Bell played sports in grade school and previously coached 10 to 13-year-olds in football.
He said the school should “absolutely” share the submitted diversity statements.
“They’re a public university. To me if you’re taking our tax dollars everything you do should be an open book,” Bell said during a recent phone interview. Project 21 is part of the National Center for Public Policy Research.
The mandated statements get to a deeper issue Bell told The Fix.
He said young coaches are more “vulnerable” to pressure to conform since they may spend years as an assistant before landing a head coaching job. He said the university is trying to “cramp down” on people by pushing them to take an unrelated political stance.
Asked what universities should prioritize in coaching, Bell said it should be the actual knowledge, such as how to build up strength in the case of a weight training coach.
When it comes to “equity” he said it’s “not going to exist on a football team in any way whatsoever.”
The Fix asked if requiring diversity statements might lead to universities hiring unqualified coaches who can game the system and use the right DEI buzzwords.
“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Bell said. He said the situation is “odd” since college football has been a “bulwark” against “wokeness.”
When a football team embraces DEI then it signals the school is no longer interested in winning games, Bell said, mentioning that sports is a “meritocracy.”
“I absolutely think that they would be more than happy to hire someone who is unqualified or underqualified to serve in that role.”
Why do they need to hire a DEI coach when 85% of the players are black and other minorities? This football DEI coach is scam artist being paid 100 thousand or more a year and will be black of course!
College football as it exists today is a form of public corruption. It is profitable because of gambling even if the colleges themselves aren't in that part of the business. And the programs are run like organized crime operations.
The people who sued Knute Rockne and lost were in the right.
Since all of the Starbucks are fully staffed, what are all of these HR girls going to do when DEI goes away?
**College football as it exists today is a form of public corruption.**
I can’t imagine how much free time I have had in the 42 years since kicking the football viewing habit. I’m talking real freedom.
The only way equity can be reached is for the fastest players to slow down to be equal with the slowest. If I was coach, I would fully comply to prove a point.
EC
Lol. All it would take is one practice. Everybody stay even with the slowest lineman during wind sprints. Epic fail.
..A CHALLENGING ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT...
The academic environment is grievance studies and the like. I doubt you will find an engineer, mathematician or hard scientist among the lot.
How many Asian and Jewish football players will they be recruiting? Certainly those student athletes are under represented on college football teams. Hate to admit I received my graduate degree from Mankato State.
Anyone remember the Hopwood vs. Texas case in 1996 where the UT Austin white students (yes, white students) sued them for discrimination in the Law Dept. which had 1,300 students. They won and it created the 1997 Top 10 ruling that said the top 10% of Texas public high school graduates would automatically be admitted into their TX public university of choice.
In 2009, the UT Austin president got his panties in a wad that those smart HS seniors would be the end to Longhorn Football. Oh, NO!!!!!!! As if out of 51,000 students on campus, they couldn’t find room to fill the 123 player roster. I was on the phone calling each legislator and their cousin to stop the nonsense. In the end, even though the ruling was 100% brought on by UT’s DEI idiocy, the state dropped the 10% to the top 8% at UT Austin only while the rest of the universities were kept at 10%. I still fail to understand what any of this had to do with football but always follow the money.
**I can’t imagine how much free time I have had in the 42 years since kicking the football viewing habit. I’m talking real freedom.**
Sorry but it’s my fix. The salary cap going up every year is proof it’s a popular drug.
I worked harder during the week because it made watching the game more enjoyable. Body tired, nerves shot, beer in hand. It’s not sex but a good distraction away from getting laid.
Go check out the couple dozen perks and freebie organizations outside the welfare dept. specifically for Somalis in Minnesota. Unbelievable. Many to sue the US government.
Maybe their football program is made up of fast running Somalis who still haven’t learned English. The coaches must be hired on their proficiency of the Somali language.
Ah ha, here it is on the school’s website:
Somali Student Association (SSA)
The aim of the Somali Student Association is to endorse and encourage the culture, history and language of the Somali people. Above all, SSA intends to bring forth from ashes of ambiguity and misapprehension the fascinating lives of the Somali people. The Somali people are the third most populous immigrants in Minnesota, and this organization aims to become a bridge between the Somali community and the collegiate community.
Yes, it’s clear to me. The tackles should tackle the white guys harder than minorities. I mean really flatten the white guys and take them out of the game if possible. That is an equity lens.
Does this mean we’ll soon see more white, Latino and Asian players on the Minn. State Mankato football team?
If admissions must meet race ratios, maybe athletic scholarships must be set at the same ratios?
This is OK. Since Minnesota is about 75% white, equity demands 75% of the football team AND the starters must be white.
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