Dawn Staley Signs Seven-Year, $22.4 Million Contract Extension with South Carolina
The University of South Carolina Gamecocks have officially signed their women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley to a historical contract on Friday. The new deal not only makes her the highest paid Black head coach in her sport, but one of the highest paid women’s basketball coaches in the country.
The contract is for seven years, worth $22.4 million.
The school’s Athletic Director discussed the new partnership and the bright future ahead.
“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 Staley’s 13 seasons with the school, she has made herself into a coaching icon in the NCAA Women’s basketball coaching ranks. She was National Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading the Gamecocks to a No. 1 regular season ranking before the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s also the first person ever to earn Naismith Player of the Year (’91 and ’92) and the Naismith Coach of the Year. With that, she’s a four-time SEC Coach of the Year and a two-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, which she won during her time at Temple.
Under Dawn Staley’s leadership, South Carolina has dominated as a national powerhouse and one of three programs to play in at least three of the last six NCAA Final Fours (2015, 2017 and 2021). They won a national championship in 2017.
