Calipari’s idea becomes reality. Program to help minorities into athletic leadership.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari’s proposed program to help minority candidates begin careers in athletics became reality on Monday. That’s when the launching of the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative was announced.
In addition to Calipari, the program is supported by 36 other college head coaches and the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation. A news release said the program is intended to serve as a “jump-start to careers through practical experience, opportunities to build their network and instill values of John McLendon: Integrity, education, leadership and mentorship.”
Participants will be known as “Minority Leadership Initiative Future Leaders,” the news release said. Calipari has pledged to fund five of the MLI Future Leaders in each of the next six years.
UK will be part of the program beginning with the upcoming 2020-21 school year.
Calipari spoke of such a program multiple times this year as a way he could make a difference in dealing with this country’s systemic racism.
“It was really important for me to take a step back these past few weeks and listen,” the UK coach said in the news release. “Now it’s time to take action. The MLI is about access and opportunity: real-world experience and networking platforms designed to elevate talented young women and men of color who have previously been ignored by a system that lacks diversity and inclusion. For this work, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate vehicle than the McLendon Foundation. I’m excited about where we’re headed and feel this is a great first step toward affecting measurable change in our corner of the world.”
McLendon considered the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, as a mentor. McLendon graduated from Kansas in 1937. His coaching career included stops at Kentucky State, North Carolina Central, Hampton, Tennessee State, Cleveland State and the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association.
“The McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative is a huge step in the right direction for enhancing the pipeline within our industry,” said Andrea Williams, Chief Operating Officer at the College Football Playoff and McLendon Foundation president. “There are many qualified minority individuals who are prepared to make their mark and begin their careers in college athletics, and this program, jump-started by Coach Calipari, is a great foundation to build on.”
The McLendon Foundation will be helping seek support from college coaches and administrators, plus corporations to build this program and provide opportunities within athletics departments at all levels.
Calipari is seeking matching funds from private donors, corporate supporters, and other partners to support other universities that wish to participate in the program, the news release said.
“I am pleased that the University of Kentucky Athletics Department has joined me in the initiative, and I hope that other college coaches and schools will join in this great cause,” Calipari said. “College athletics will be the focus of the MLI, but if the initiative can make a broader impact across all levels of athletics and in other industries to help build a path of opportunity for our minority leaders of tomorrow, I’m all for that.”
More information regarding the MLI, including a pre-application for interested and qualified individuals, can be found at MinorityLeaders.org.
