While University of Hawaii officials huddle — “don’t call it a committee” — and keep the choice of the next Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach close to the vest, we have been left to speculate on possible candidates.

The names — actual candidates or not — most tossed around initially were Dan Fisher, Tom Pestolesi, Mike Sealy, Reed Sunahara, Scott Wong … coaches of some standing, all.

The names you didn’t hear tossed around as much are…

Well, they are women’s names.

Surely there are many among the “about 40” applications UH said it had received as of Thursday but are keeping confidential.

Maybe even some named Shirley.

Watching jobs get filled across the country, maybe we get a glimpse of why more women’s names don’t leap into the forefront of the conversation.

And, ultimately, get hired.

In Division I the preponderance of hires are male and it has become a national issue. For example, Stanford last month hired a successor to the celebrated John Dunning, who retired after winning his fifth national championship. It was Kevin Hambly of Illinois. And Hambly was succeeded by a male in Nebraska assistant Chris Tamas.

Well, you get the idea.

But maybe not the depth of the issue. More than most NCAA sports played by women on the Division I level, there is a wide disparity between who is competing and who is hired to do the head coaching on the sidelines.

Before we go any further, let’s be absolutely clear here: This isn’t to say that UH has to hire a woman if Dave Shoji does, indeed, hang the clipboard up after a remarkable run of 42 seasons and 1,202 victories.

The overriding requirement for UH is that it must hire the best available coach. The charge here is to find the top coach and best fit for the program, period.

That is what the players who come to UH in search of excellence deserve and what continued success for the program demands.

But it is worth noting that, as we embark on the 45th season since the passage of Title IX, just 35.7 percent of the Division I women’s volleyball head coaching jobs are held by women, according to a 2016-17 study from the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota. Also of note: Of the 36 past NCAA volleyball champions, just 10 programs have won the title, and all have been coached by men.

The Tucker Center, which also analyzes hiring by sport, gave major college women’s volleyball a grade of “D” — ranking it well behind softball, field hockey, lacrosse, golf, equestrian, basketball, gymnastics, tennis and Nordic skiing for the percentage of women in head coaching roles.

In the era when Shoji (1975) began coaching, the majority of jobs went to women, many of them program-building pioneers. Kathy Gregory (UC Santa Barbara), Elaine Michaelis (BYU) and Mary Wise (Iowa State, later Florida) were among the pacesetters who crossed the Rainbow Wahine’s path.

But the sport has grown by leaps and bounds. Now there are more than 330 women’s teams in Division I, compared to a couple dozen for men, and the salaries have climbed through the influx of football and basketball TV money. Most jobs now go to men, especially in the marquee conferences.

Which is part of why, for all the players who have come through Shoji’s program, there aren’t all that many UH alumnae to be found in head coaching roles on the major levels. And why, you suspect, we aren’t hearing as many of their names being speculated upon as candidates.

Given the national trend, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. But disappointed? Definitely.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.