If you’re new to collegiate women’s basketball, do a quick Google search of Dawn Staley and you’ll learn all you need to know about who is leading this landscape. She hails from the corner of Diamond Avenue and 25th Street in North Philadelphia, and now reigns as the head coach for the champion South Carolina Gamecocks women’s team.
At 53, Staley is a Hall of Fame point guard who led the United States to three Olympic gold medals as a player and one as a coach. In her sixteenth year at South Carolina, Coach Staley just led the team to its second straight undefeated regular season. What makes this win so amazing is that Staley became the first Black coach in Division I history, both men’s and women’s college basketball, to accomplish this. In addition, Staley’s third ring makes her the first Black coach to win three national titles.
Many are saying that we are in a time of women’s basketball, as if it hasn’t been around. I do believe that this particular season of women’s collegiate basketball has changed the perspective of the way people view the sport. It’s easy to get locked in with players like Angel Reece, JuJu Watkins, and Caitlin Clark that you’ll walk away with an excited appreciation wanting to know more about other players.
Three titles in seven years speaks volumes about Staley’s incredible tenure as a coach. Even more, South Carolina wasn’t even the most talked about team during the season. The enormity of the win was not lost on Staley; as confetti rained down on her team after another successful season, she broke down in tears as they celebrated reaching the top yet again.
The Gamecocks are now 109-3 over the last three seasons. The culmination of last season’s campaign, in which they heartbreakingly lost to Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes in the Final Four, has loomed large for Staley and her coaching staff. It’s a testament to never giving up.
Here’s what I love about Dawn Staley: In 2021, she sent pieces of her 2017 NCAA championship net to Black women head coaches, creating a tangible connection for a steadily growing group of women in the sport. In Division I women’s college basketball, where 21 percent of its head coaches identified as Black women during the 2020–21 season according to the NCAA, Staley understood the bond they shared.
Staley’s act proclaimed that there are ceilings and barriers yet to break; that she is representing more than just herself. It was for all of them to focus on why they do this, another piece more than basketball. It was a reminder that it’s bigger than wins and losses. It was less about basketball and more about how she could help. She took time to serve and that is what makes her stand out as a person, as well as a head coach. Yet, Staley doing this with the other coaches is actually passing a torch that was handed to her by Carolyn Peck.
Carolyn Peck was the first Black woman to win an NCAA women’s basketball championship in 1999. Once it was over, no one seemed to care outside of Purdue. Staley noted, “We often don’t give credit where credit is due. That’s a story that has been forgotten, and we only talk about the fact that she’s the first Black woman to do it.”
Peck’s incredible success in such a short time at Purdue has earned her a spot in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, which she will be inducted into this month. But her impact on the game has stretched further than her 1999 national title — an accomplishment that inspired how Peck has carried herself the rest of her career and now as an ESPN analyst.
As Black women, we grow up being told that we have to be twice as good to succeed. You have to make sure you don’t make mistakes. It’s actually a negative stigma we’ve had for so long. It takes a toll and it’s not fair. I believe women’s collegiate basketball is finally getting the recognition and opportunity it deserves. It’s about putting your best forward and understanding it’s a privilege and a blessing to be in the space. Staley represents that doing a good job does matter.
This is one of those instances when one Black woman wins, we all win. In this regard, Dawn Staley went through the door, propped it open, and left the light on. She did it for all the Black women coaches standing with her, as well as those coming behind her. That’s the message here — she wants them all to win. The fact that there are still firsts means there’s still a tremendous amount of work to be done. It’s a call for all Black women, in our respective fields, to show we are always ones to bet on.
What's Your Reaction?
