Female ADs Find It's Lonely at the Top

Despite Girls' Sports Boom, Few Women Are in Charge of Prep Athletic Programs

When they took their jobs, they became victims of a great hypocrisy, they said. Women, it seems, can become high school athletic directors -- so long as they sometimes act like men.

Anacostia's Eileen Covington learned to speak loudly and forcefully -- both against her nature -- so her voice would resonate in male-dominated meetings. Sidwell Friends' Anne Renninger coached two boys' sports and studied several more so she could become an expert on male sports culture. North Stafford's Margaret Lowry, fearing she might look like a "weak female," worked herself into better shape so she could move equipment and line fields as well as any man.

For all three women, a minor makeover seemed a necessary requirement to thrive in a job dominated by men. Out of 214 athletic director positions at Washington area schools that compete in public school leagues or major private school conferences, only 37 athletic directors, or 17 percent, are female. At the 12 public schools in Anne Arundel County, all of the athletic directors are men.

Some administrators said women don't look into athletic director positions; others said women are overlooked. Either way, at a time when girls make up 42 percent of all high school athletes, according to various studies, the lack of women running high school sports programs is a glaring problem, athletic directors say.

"It definitely feels like you're cracking into an old boys' club," Covington said. "You just have to decide that you're not going to let anybody push you around. It's a manly world, so a woman has to go the extra mile and work the extra hours to succeed."

Girls' participation in athletics has increased by a factor of 10 nationally since Title IX was enacted in 1972. But girls' progress in finding opportunities to play has not been matched at the administrative level -- and administrators such as Renninger say the lack of diversity, in the end, hurts students.

"It's not even about being a role model -- it's about our perspective in athletics," Renninger said. "It's different. . . . I think [women athletic directors] look out for gender equity, you look out for all the programs and you learn not to assume a program is fine just because it's winning."

Regardless of gender, most high school athletic directors put in a minimum of about 60 hours per week during the school year. Typically, athletic directors arrive at school about 7 a.m., then spend the next 12 to 15 hours juggling myriad responsibilities. They often work Saturday, too, if school teams play that day.

North Stafford's Lowry spends most of her mornings answering e-mails, scheduling games and arranging transportation to events. In the afternoon, she mows athletic fields, moves equipment, meets with coaches, talks to students and addresses parents' concerns. She's usually at school until at least 8 p.m., whether she's watching a game or attending a booster club meeting.

At Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Jean Vanderpool does all those same things -- while teaching classes every day. In Howard County, athletic director is not considered a full-time position, so athletic directors also teach.

"When you're doing all that, it's not just a job. It's a lifestyle," Vanderpool said. "It's extremely difficult to find any time for yourself."

And it's almost impossible, athletic directors said, to find any time for a family, which might be why so few women occupy the position.