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Last month's game between Virginia and Eastern Michigan marked a milestone for diversity at college football's highest level.
It's believed to have been the first such matchup in which both coaches and athletic directors were African-Americans.
A study released Thursday found uneven progress toward more moments like it in the future. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida reported major gains in the number of minority head coaches at college football's highest level but less movement in other leadership positions.
The research examined data from the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. A record 15 coaches of color led FBS teams at the start of the 2010 season. But a lack of diversity remains in the sport's positions of power. The study found that all conference commissioners, 93 percent of school presidents and 88 percent of athletic directors at these colleges were white.
Six new African-American coaches were hired at FBS schools this past offseason, while Turner Gill moved up from Buffalo to BCS conference member Kansas.
From 1979-2002, a total of 19 full-time African-American head coaches were hired. Ten have been hired in just the last two years.
They include Virginia's Mike London, hired by AD Craig Littlepage, and Eastern Michigan's Ron English, hired by Derrick Gragg. Black Coaches and Administrators executive director Floyd Keith made sure to be on hand when the teams met Oct. 23, with the Cavaliers winning 48-21 at home.
''The biggest litmus test to this is where we end up a year from now,'' Keith said. ''If the trend is continuing, then I think it's pointing to all the positives for all of us engaged in this struggle.''
