Dive Brief:

• The Harrison County Board of Education in West Virginia is considering a change to its coaching policy that would prohibit athletic directors and other administrators from coaching sports teams, according to The Exponent Telegram.
• At issue is whether additional coaching duties will distract athletic directors and school administrators from fulfilling the demands of their leadership positions.
• School board members also raised conflict of interest and fairness concerns. They questioned, for example, whether an athletic director can effectively serve as his or her owns boss and expressed doubts about paying one person to do both jobs — essentially running the athletic department and coaching..

Dive Insight:

Athletic directors have demanding jobs. They hire coaches, prepare budgets and take an active role in scheduling games, all the while making sure that athletic facilities are in good shape and the sports program is in compliance with the rules and regulations of multiple conferences, leagues and associations.

While some athletic directors find the time to meet the demands of their “day jobs” and still coach on the side, others are relinquishing their clipboards, so to speak, to ensure that no aspect of their administrative duties gets short thrift.

In some instances, the trend is voluntary with athletic directors opting out of the coaching game on their own. In others, district leaders are making that decision for them. Dayton Public Schools, for example, made changes to its hiring policies last year that prohibit athletic directors from serving in a dual role as coach.