19: Holding the Line: The Uncomfortable Truth About Who Gets Protected in College Sports

Five with Fry

Who gets saved, and who gets sacrificed?

In this episode of Five with Fry, Dr. Jen Fry digs into the uncomfortable—but essential—question at the heart of college coaching: Who is deemed “worth saving” when things get tough?

Drawing from a powerful panel at the Drake Group Symposium, Jen unpacks how race and gender show up in retention decisions, especially when it comes to Black women coaches. The numbers are staggering: in 2024 alone, 11 to 12 Black women volleyball coaches at Power Five schools were fired. Meanwhile, white coaches with similar or worse records often stay put.

This isn’t about performance. As attorney Thomas Newkirk put it: Black coaches aren’t doing anything different than white coaches. What’s different is the institutional response—who gets protected, defended, or quietly let go.

With social media amplifying criticism from parents and athletes, athletic directors are making high-stakes calls about who gets backed. And it’s becoming clearer: those decisions are far from neutral.

As NIL and revenue sharing transform the economics of college sports, Dr. Fry challenges athletic departments to stop hiding behind win-loss records and ask the real question: Who gets grace? Who gets support? And who keeps getting cut loose?

Subscribe to Five with Fry wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation @JenFryTalks on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Let’s keep this critical conversation going.

Chapters

1. Welcome to Five with Fry (00:00:00)

2. What Coach is Worth Saving? (00:00:34)

3. Who Gets Second Chances? (00:01:22)

4. Race, Gender, and Administration Support (00:03:31)

5. Episode Wrap and Contact Info (00:05:24)