How Dawn Staley Earned Her Historic Contract

Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, Muffett McGraw, C. Vivian Stringer and Geno Auriemma. These are some of the most successful and legendary coaches in women’s college basketball history. Now added to this list is South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.

On Friday the University of South Carolina announced that Staley has been approved for a contract extension through the 2029-30 season with an approximate value of $25 million. The annual salary will be $4 million, with a $500,000 signing bonus and a $250,000 increase each season.

This contract passes Kim Mulkey ($3.2 million per year) and Geno Auriemma ($3.1 million per year), making Staley the highest paid coach in women’s college basketball history.

Let’s take a look at Staley’s Hall of Fame career and how she achieved this historic deal.

Before Staley took helm in Columbia, South Carolina had never won an SEC Championship, made three Sweet 16 appearances, one Elite Eight appearance and zero Final Four appearances.

Staley is coming off her second national championship in the last three years, and third in the last eight. Staley has been in Columbia since 2008 and has a 458-107 record with the Gamecocks.

Since Staley’s first season, South Carolina has won eight SEC championships, appeared in 11 Sweet 16’s, six Elite Eights and Final Fours, including each of the last four, and of course has won three national championships. Her only losing season came in the first year on the job, and since then the Gamecocks have only improved.

Staley’s first NCAA Tournament appearance with South Carolina came in 2012 and ended in a Sweet 16 appearance. Since then the Gamecocks have reached this mark in every season except 2013. Staley has also led her team to six of the last nine Final Fours.

Only four other programs have won at least three national championships. South Carolina is also the only program besides UConn to have multiple 40-game winning streaks.

Staley won her first SEC regular season title in the 2013-14 season, since then the Gamecocks have not finished lower than 2nd. South Carolina won its first SEC Tournament in 2015, they also claimed the next three, becoming the first program in league history to win four consecutive titles.

The Gamecocks have been ranked in the AP Poll every week since December 10, 2012. They have been ranked No. 1 86 times, all coming under Staley.

It’s evident that Staley knows how to win and she has certainly been awarded for all of her success.

Staley is a five-time National Coach of the Year, including unanimous selections in 2020 and 2024. She won Naismith Coach of the Year the past three seasons, becoming the first men’s or women’s coach to earn this honor in three consecutive seasons.

Staley has been named SEC Coach of the Year seven times, including in each of the last three seasons. It’s almost guaranteed that Staley is going to break Pat Summitt’s current record of eight selections.

Staley's presence and success has transformed Columbia, South Carolina into a major basketball community.

The Gamecocks have led the NCAA in average attendance for the last 10 seasons. With a season ticket sell out this year, South Carolina is on pace to hold this record for another season.

Dawn Staley’s historic contract was years in the making and very well deserved. She has helped change and inspire the game of basketball. Staley is on a Hall of Fame path and even with her career still running, she has already cemented herself as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport.

Gianna Dowling is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email gmd5738@psu.edu.