The Rising Coaches Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Alliance is proud to announce that education and social innovation leader Dr. Marcus Bright has joined the Alliance as Senior Advisor. Dr. Bright has worked across the country to build partnerships and put processes in place that have generated access, opportunities, and resources for diverse populations of people. He has published over 150 articles in various publications including the Huffington Post, The Grio, Miami Herald, and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, hosted a television show that was nominated for a Regional Emmy Award, and spoken across the country on a variety of topics related to public policy, education, and social justice.

Birmingham, AL. The Rising Coaches Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance is pleased to announce the finalists for its second annual “Next Up” Head Coaches Training Initiative.  The finalists for “Next Up 2021” are as follows:

1. Why did you get into coaching?

It was purely "accidental". I was a pre-med major in college and once I nished my overseas pro career, I thought I would start getting hours for my medical career. I missed the game so much that I became an AAU coach while getting my hours. The next thing I know, I am interviewing at Bucknell for the assistant coach position and the rest is history.

Birmingham, AL. The Rising Coaches Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance is pleased to announce the finalist for the “Next Up” Head Coaches Training Initiative. The organizations that make up the Rising Coaches DEI Alliance each nominated coaches for the opportunity to participate in a workshop with sports search consultant Katy Young Staudt. Katy Young Staudt was recently named a Top 40 under 40 in college basketball by The Athletic. “There are a number of rising stars in our business and I am honored to be able to provide advice and expertise to help advance their careers” said Staudt. “If we are truly going to impact the game in a positive way, we must take the right action steps to get there and helping prepare coaches to win the interview is one of the most important steps in the coaching search process." Staudt has led basketball searches for Texas Tech, Washington State, Cal Berkeley, Fairfield, UC Riverside, UT Tyler and Cleveland State just to name a few.