Pac-12 Basketball Coaches Pledge Support For McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – All 12 men’s basketball head coaches have pledged support for the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative.

The 12 head coaches join a contingent of their colleagues across the country, led by Kentucky’s John Calipari and Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker in establishing the Minority Leadership Initiative.

The Minority Leadership Initiative will provide minorities a jump start to their careers through practical experiences, opportunities to build their network and instilling the values of John McLendon which is Integrity, Education, Leadership and Mentorship.

All 12 #Pac12Hoops head coaches have pledged their united support to help launch the McLendon Foundation Minority Leadership Initiative and help provide access and opportunity to deserving minority candidates as #FutureLeaders. #MLI

READ MORE: https://t.co/TurFblzF9n

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 13, 2020

Learn more about John McLendon, here.

Each of the 12 head coaches in the Pac-12 have pledged a four-year commitment to provide funding to the MLI program, which will establish athletics administration educational experiences for minority candidates on each Pac-12 campus. Coaches will act as liaison with the McLendon Foundation and serve as ambassadors and mentors to the MLI Future Leaders.

The Athletic Directors in the conference unanimously approved the men’s basketball coaches’ recommendation.

“In order to advance diversity in sports, it is important we develop minority administrators and leaders who will go on to hire the next generation of college coaches. We are only a small part of what we all hope will become a larger initiative. The Pac-12 coaches are excited to be involved with the McLendon Foundation and to become part of the solution,” said Oregon’s Dana Altman on behalf of the Conference’s head coaches.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott released a statement.

“I am proud of our head men’s basketball coaches for collectively supporting the McLendon Foundation and taking action to effectuate social change within our membership”, said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “As our league continues its efforts to promote social justice and anti-racism, it is critical to foster and cultivate meaningful opportunities to develop minority leadership and influence organizational change not only within our athletic departments, but across the sports industry.”

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.