Check out the opening paragraph of this USA Today editorial:

In 1998, just eight African-Americans walked the sidelines as head coaches at the 117 colleges playing big-time college football. It was, perhaps, the most striking symbol of racism entrenched in American life.

USA Today goes on to contradict that point by noting that "racism didn't necessarily motivate the firings" of Tyrone Willingham and the other black coaches. (There are currently only two).

I don't know exactly why there aren't more black coaches in football. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it has a lot to do with it being closed to outsiders of all types. Call it a "good ol' boys" club if you want, but there's no mistaking the fact that the coaching carousel has the same old coaches going round and round. Quality coaches like Tyrone Willingham, Steve Spurrier, and Butch Davis are all looking for jobs, and "big-time college football" programs want a big time name. Coaches hoping to crack the major football programs will need to work their way up through the Div I-AA and II schools to the minor Division I-A schools. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Utah's Urban Meyer for instance, are ripe for the big time. But that's only two guys out of several hundred.

I'll admit that I was shocked that Willingham was fired from Notre Dame and I think he got a raw deal. But I think it's more representative of Notre Dame's desire to win (and win NOW) than it was any sort of inherent racism. (No offense to Catholics, but I think Notre Dame would hire the devil himself if he could guarantee a couple national titles.) It certainly doesn't seem like "the most striking symbol of racism" in American life.