Historical Spotlight: Dawn Staley
Women’s college basketball has exploded in popularity over the last few years. The sport has seen phenomenal teams and athletes really put everything on the line to beat opponents and make their sport more relevant. With the guidance of their coach, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks won this year’s NCAA championship game against Iowa and put a cherry on top of a perfect undefeated season. Join me as we shine a historical spotlight on the great legend Dawn Staley.
Dawn was born on May 4th, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to her parents Clarence and Estelle. She has three brothers named Lawrence, Anthony, and Eric, and one sister named Tracey. Growing up, she had the utmost respect for her religious mother who was the disciplinarian of the family.
Over her lifetime, Dawn has received numerous honors for her phenomenal basketball play. During her final season at Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School in Pennsylvania, she was named the national high school player of the year. After graduating high school, she attended the University of Virginia and earned a degree in Rhetoric and Communication Studies.
In college, she led her team to four NCAA tournaments, three Final Four appearances, and one national championship game. She was named the ACC female athlete of the year and the national player of the year in 1991 and 1992. She finished her collegiate career with 2,135 points, 729 assists, and 454 steals. She held UVA’s record as the all-time scoring leader, the NCAA record for career steals, and the ACC’s record in assists until they were later broken. Her number 24 is retired at UVA.
Dawn began her professional career playing overseas in France from 1994 to 1995. In 1996, she played for the Richmond Rage in the American Basketball League (ABL) and led the team to the finals in 1997 before the team moved to Philadelphia the following season.
In the 1999 WNBA draft, Dawn was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Sting. Just two years later, she led her team to the championship game of the playoffs. After being traded to the Houston Comets in 2005, she announced her retirement. The Comets made the playoffs, but were unfortunately swept by the Sacramento Monarchs in the first round. During her WNBA career, she was a 6 time All-Star from 2001 to 2006.
Dawn played for Team USA throughout her career. In 1994, she was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year after competing in the World Championships. She even led the 1996 team to an undefeated record of 60-0 and won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. She won two more gold medals with the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams.
Dawn began her coaching career at Temple University in 2000 while still actively playing in the WNBA. Across her eight year tenure, she led the program to six NCAA tournaments, three regular-season conference championships, and four conference tournament titles.
In 2008, she left Temple to pursue a coaching position at the University of South Carolina. She worked to build the program from the ground up and during her first six seasons as head coach, she improved the team’s record each year. In 2014, the Gamecocks achieved the program’s first #1 ranking, making Dawn only the second person in history to both play on and coach a #1-ranked team.
So far, Dawn has led South Carolina to eight SEC regular season championships, eight SEC tournament championships, eight Sweet Sixteen appearances, five Final Four appearances, and three NCAA national championships. The most recent national title was won this year and was the perfect ending to an undefeated 38-0 season. She is just the second Black American in history to lead a women’s basketball team to a national championship.
In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in the WNBA. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. On April 2, 2020, she became the first person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach. In the 2020 Olympics, she won her first gold medal as head coach for Team USA and her fourth overall.
In 2021, Dawn signed a seven-year, $22.4 million contract extension with South Carolina, making her the highest-paid Black college basketball coach in the country. She won her 600th game on February 22, 2024 and her current record as a coach is 612-186.
Many people have tuned into Dawn Staley and the amazing work she’s doing with her South Carolina team. She is known as and will continue to be one of the greatest coaches within women’s college basketball. Not only does she demand greatness on a daily basis, but she’s also compassionate with her team and coaches to their strengths.
Even though I’m a Georgia Bulldog for life, I truly enjoy supporting Dawn and the South Carolina basketball team no matter who they’re playing. She’s an amazing role model for the Black community and I can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next!
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
