Coach Dawn Staley received a contract extension on Friday that South Carolina said will make her the highest paid college women’s basketball coach of all time at a total value of about $25 million.
Staley is signed through the 2029-30 season, earning $4 million a year to start with an annual $250,000 escalator. There’s also a $500,000 signing bonus, the school announced.
“Dawn Staley is a once-in-a-generation coach who has made a tremendous impact on the University of South Carolina,” athletics director Jeremiah Donati said in a statement. “She has elevated the sport of women’s basketball on the national level and here on campus and I am excited that she will be representing our University for many years to come.”
Staley has led South Carolina to six of the last nine Final Fours, including each of the last four. The Gamecocks won titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024. They are currently ranked second in the AP poll and are 17-1 on the season.
Dawn Staley is a five-time Coach of the Year
“What we’ve been able to accomplish on the court is a testament to what can happen when you bring together the right people from a team perspective,” Staley said in the statement. “But also have the right commitment from the University, the Athletics Department and the community to providing that team with everything it needs to be successful.”
Staley said she looks “forward to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone.”
Staley’s former players were thrilled to see her making history.
“I think about what coach Staley has done for women’s basketball and how much she just advocates for us,” South Carolina great Aliyah Boston said. “Especially for one, being an investor in Unrivaled you see how much she puts into the sport. And so I’m so glad that it’s coming back for her. I think when you look at what she’s done for women’s basketball, just her ability to be a player’s coach, she’s played and won on every single level and then now she’s pouring into us.”
The Gamecocks have led the nation in attendance the last 10 seasons. This year they sold out of season tickets for the first time in program history with 13,152 sold.