LaVoi to present twice at Aspen Project Play Summit

September 5, 2019

Tucker Center director Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, will be on two panel presentations at the Aspen Institute Project Play Summit, September 17-18, in Detroit, MI. The first panel, “Train All Coaches: And Recruit a Few More,” is with Dan Gould (MI State), Julie McCleery (UW), and Bridget Niland (Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo). The second panel, “How to Coach Girls,” is with Allison Riley (Girls on the Run International) and Ramona Cox (Detroit PAL).

Kane quoted on post-Title IX on gender pay equity in Women’s eNews

August 29, 2019

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director emerita of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed for a Women’s eNews online article, “Title IX: What a Difference a Law Can Make.” Kane’s comments center around the gender differential in coach hiring post-Title IX.

KARE 11 interviews Tucker Center’s Arbeiter

August 28, 2019

McKenzie Arbeiter, Tucker Center Master’s student in sport psychology, was interviewed by KARE11 for a piece on high school sport participation, “MN the exception as nation sees drop in HS sports sign ups.” Arbeiter comments that the number of top-tier women’s sports teams has helped fuel participation rates for girls.

Video from the article is viewable here.

Miami Herald quotes Tucker Center’s Kane on gender pay equity

August 28, 2019

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted extensively in a long article from the Miami Herald entitled, “How big is the gender pay gap in sports? It’s much bigger than you think. Here is proof.“

Tucker Center documentary “Game On” at the State Fair

August 22, 2019

Lavendar background with text Game On: Women can Coach in white overlayed

Going to the Great Minnesota Get-Together?: The Tucker Center’s new documentary with Twin Cities PBS, “GAME ON: Women Can Coach” will be screened at the MN State Fair on August 23 from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. All broadcast dates for Game On can be viewed on the TPT website.

Tucker Center scholars publish

August 20, 2019

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, and co-author Matea Wasend, former Kinesiology Master’s graduate and Tucker Center research assistant, have published an article in a special issue on women in sport coaching that LaVoi helped co-edit for the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal.

“Are Women Coached by Women More Likely to Become Sport Coaches? Head Coach Gender and Female Collegiate Athletes’ Entry into the Coaching Profession” examines the relationship between college female basketball players’ post-playing career behavior and the gender of their collegiate head coach. The research asks if female collegiate Division-I basketball players who are coached by female head coaches are more likely to enter the coaching profession than are athletes who are coached by men, and also asks if female basketball players do enter coaching, are those who were coached by women more likely to persist in coaching?

Tucker Center releases newest Women in College Coaching Report Card

August 8, 2019

*Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., Courtney Boucher, and Sarah Silbert*

The Tucker Center has released its annual analysis of female vs males holding head coach positions of women’s teams in the NCAA Division I. The report, “Head Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Comprehensive Report on NCAA Division-I Institutions, 2018–19,” is authored by Tucker Center director, Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., doctoral student and Pam Borton Fellow Courtney Boucher, and Tucker Center Intern Sarah Silbert.

The 2018-19 dataset includes all head coaches of women’s teams (N = 3561) at 351 institutions of higher education in all geographic regions of the United States that were current members of 32 NCAA Division-I conferences. Compared to data from 2017-2018, the overall percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams is slightly higher (+0.4%).

MplsStPaul Magazine quotes LaVoi on youth sport equity

July 24, 2019

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and Senior Lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in a Mpls St Paul Magazine article, “Why Do Nine-Year-Old Girls and Boys Play Sports on Separate Teams?” LaVoi’s comments note the benefits of gender equity for children and question the reasons behind gender inequity.

Kinesiology alumna publishes editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer on pay equity for women athletes

July 15, 2019

A Kinesiology PhD alumna published an editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week on pay equality for all women professional athletes. The editorial was sparked by the call for closing the pay gap between women and men women soccer players after the US Women’s National Team team won the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time.

Caroline Heffernan, currently assistant professor of instruction at Temple University in Philadelphia, argued that while the women’s soccer team should certainly receive equal compensation, disparities in pay and working conditions for women and men exist across all professional sports, and is a larger issue that needs to be addressed.

Heffernan graduated from the School with her PhD in Kinesiology in 2018. She was advised by Lisa Kihl, PhD, in the Sport Management emphasis and currently conducts research on how allyship’s application in sport organizations can increase the number of women in positions of leadership.

LaVoi research team presents at World Cup Equality Summit

July 10, 2019

Image of Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi — Nicole M. LaVoi

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, and a team of gender and sport research colleagues—Drs. Leanne Norman (Leeds Beckett, UK), Donna De Haan (Utrecht University), and Annalies Knoppers (Utrecht University)—gave a presentation on their research at the recent Women’s World Cup “Equal Playing Field: The Equality Summit 2019” conference held in Lyon, France. Their research brief is titled, “Researchers release telling and groundbreaking results of elite women football coaches’ experiences“

WWD quotes Kane on women athletes

July 9, 2019

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director emerita of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in a Women’s Wear Daily article, “U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Win Lifts Sales, Nike Brand, Equality” that emphasizes “a larger and ongoing story about women’s empowerment.”

Kane provides commentary on the US Soccer World Champions in particular and women in sport in general.

LaVoi quoted on US Soccer pay inequity

July 9, 2019

KARE-11 News has quoted Nicole LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the School of Kinesiology, in an online article, “US Women World Cup win fuels fight for equal pay.”

LaVoi’s comments favor a common sense approach toward pay equity while noting possible “behind the scenes” factors involved.

Tucker Center’s Kane comments on criticism of World Champion US Soccer team

July 8, 2019

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director emerita of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, is interviewed in an MPR News piece, “Double standard? Players, fans push back on criticism of U.S. women’s soccer.” Kane comments in the audio below on some detractors’ views that concerns about pay equity take away from the game itself.

ESPN quotes LaVoi on US Soccer and gender equity

June 25, 2019

School of Kinesiology senior lecturer and Tucker Center director Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, is quoted in an ESPN article, “USWNT lawsuit in the news, but pay equality a global fight at Women’s World Cup.” The article notes that the US National Soccer Team is suing their own organization, the United States Soccer Federation, for gender equity and that conversation about gender equity is everywhere, among all countries. LaVoi positively notes that the US National Team is “using their collective power” to try to effect change on an unequal playing field.

New York Times quotes Tucker Center’s Kane on physical appearance of World Cup female athletes

June 20, 2019

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director emerita of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, is quoted in a New York Times article, “World Cup Players Say Muscles and Makeup Mix Just Fine, Thanks.”

Kane discusses some history of athlete decisions to appear—or not to appear—traditionally feminine both off and on the playing field. Tucker Center Affiliated Scholar, Vikki Krane, is also quoted in the article.

LaVoi comments on athlete activism re: pay equity

June 10, 2019

Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology lecturer and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, is quoted in The Ringer’s “Nothing and Everything Has Changed for the USWNT.” The article compares the state of the US Women’s National Soccer Team in their 1999 World Cup winning season to the current USWNT and notes little change in terms of pay equity and other issues. LaVoi comments on athlete activism in this environment.

LaVoi, Burton co-author in The Conversation

June 4, 2019

Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology lecturer and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and Laura Burton (UConn), Tucker Center Affiliated Scholar, have co-authored an article appearing in The Conversation.

In the article “The war on women coaches,” LaVoi and Burton write about the double-standard that holds female and male coaches to different standards of coaching behavior.

The Conversation is a Creative Commons-licensed news organization that seeks to “inform public debate with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence.”

Mom Enough podcast features Kinesiology professor, director Beth Lewis

June 4, 2019

Dr. Beth Lewis, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology, is featured in a recent Mom Enough podcast, “Exercise and Mental Health: University of Minnesota’s Dr. Beth Lewis Discusses the Psychology of Exercise.”

Lewis discusses the new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) exercise guidelines that came out last fall, the importance of exercise, topics around exercise motivation and adherence, and her own research on post-partum depression and exercise in the School of Kinesiology.

Mom Enough is an online resource that offers weekly shows featuring experts across a wide spectrum of parenting topics. It is co-hosted by mother-daughter team Marti Erickson, Ph.D., retired CEHD faculty member, and Erin Erickson, D.N.P., M.P.H., R.N.

Star Tribune interviews LaVoi on Tucker Center’s annual Women in College Coaching Report Card

June 3, 2019

The Star Tribune interviewed Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology lecturer and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, in a question-and-answer format for the article “Colleges courted to increase women head coaches over the next 5 years.” The article covers the annual women coaches report and report card and highlights the launch of the “Plus One Challenge” to increase the percentage of women head coaches over the next five years from 42% to 50%.

LaVoi comments on women’s hockey boycott

May 3, 2019

Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology lecturer and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, was interviewed for KARE11 coverage of the recent women’s hockey boycott. LaVoi’s comments in the video interview, “Pro women’s hockey players boycotting league,” focus on what is currently not being provided to build a successful women’s hockey league.

CEHD News Jonathan Sweet

CEHD News Jonathan Sweet