Dawn Staley and South Carolina Gamecocks fans rejoice. Your head coach isn’t going anywhere.
Today the university announced that they had approved a new seven-year, $22.4 million deal with their championship-winning coach. According to Gamecocksonline.com, this deal makes Staley “the highest paid African-American head coach in her sport and one of the highest paid women’s basketball coaches in the country.”
The new deal keeps Staley at South Carolina through the 2027-28 season and demonstrates their commitment to the coach who built the team into a top-tier program over her 13 seasons with the Gamecocks.
“Dawn Staley is one of the nation’s top coaches, regardless of the sport,” said South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “She has built our women’s basketball program from the ground up, and her teams have produced champions, both on and off the floor. The ability to keep Coach Staley at the University of South Carolina is great news for all Gamecocks. I join with our fans in looking forward to seeing the great achievements her program will continue to produce in the future.”
In the new contract, Staley’s base salary will be $1 million per year with outside compensation starting at $1.9 million in the first year. It increases by $100,000 per year thereafter.
“It’s always been an honor to represent the University of South Carolina, and this contract represents the University’s commitment to supporting me and our women’s basketball program,” Staley said. “Contract negotiations are challenging, but this one was especially important as I knew it could be a benchmark, an example for other universities to invest in their women’s basketball programs, too. Our game continues to grow and the time is ripe to make a big step forward, but only if universities foster that growth by committing resources that are equitable to those given to their men’s programs. I thank Dr. Pastides, Coach Tanner and the Board of Trustees for providing that example today. And, lastly, I would be remiss to not also thank Butch Bowers, Angela O’Neal and our FAMS for their commitment and support.”
Staley’s place in basketball history is well known.
The National High School Player of the Year in 1988, the Philly native continued her success at Virginia where Staley was a two-time Naismith Trophy winner. She moved to the WNBA and become a five-time WNBA All-Star and three-time Olympic Gold medalist.
Her accolades earned her a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
During her tenure at South Carolina, Staley has a record of 331-103, an amazing .762 winning percentage. Under her guidance, the Gamecocks are, according to their site, one of three teams to play in at least three of the last six Final Fours (2015, 2017, 2021).
Staley also led them to the 2017 NCAA Championship where they won the title.
Now Dawn Staley has been rightfully rewarded with a new big contract to match her bigger presence in the sport she loves.
