*Dawn Staley, South Carolina’s national championship coach, has inked a seven-year contract with the school that will pay her $2.9 million this season and up to $3.5 million in the final season.
“Who knew? Who knew this would take place during my tenure at South Carolina,” Staley said Friday, as reported by The Associated Press.
Per the report, the school’s Board of Trustees approved the deal worth $22.4 million Friday, making Staley the highest-paid Black coach in women’s basketball. The deal will keep her with the Gamecocks through the 2027-28 season.
“I hope she is No. 1,” said Interim University President Harris Pastides. “She taught us how to break the glass ceiling for women’s basketball and women’s coaches right here at South Carolina.”
READ MORE: Adia Barnes, Dawn Staley Make NCAA History as First Two Black Women to Lead Teams to Final Four
South Carolina has approved a 7-year, $22.4 million contract for WBB Coach Dawn Staley ✍️
She becomes the highest paid Black head coach in women’s basketball.
Staley also joins UConn’s Geno Auriemma as the highest paid WBB coaches in the country.
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— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 15, 2021
“Credit where it’s due, this university and this state have a rich history of racism, and I’m not going to disregard that,” said the 51-year-old Philadelphia native. “But this is one of the most progressive decisions they’ve ever made. They need to be recognized for being committed to leading the way in gender equity in America. This is an equitable statement and in the midst of all our inequities in our country, I hope it’s a turning point.”
Here’s more from The AP:
She’ll receive a base salary of $1 million a year over the life of the deal with her guaranteed outside compensation starting at $1.9 million this season and growing by $100,000 each subsequent year. Staley can also earn up to $680,000 in incentive bonuses. The school would owe Staley $3 million if it terminated her without cause this season, an amount that falls to $250,000 by the end of the deal. Staley would pay the university $5 million if she left on her own this season. That amount falls to $2 million by the contract’s end on April 15, 2028.
Staley’s salary is the highest in the Southeastern Conference.
“The money is staggering,” Staley said. “It really wasn’t about the money, but it takes the money for this recognition to be eye-opening.”
A former WNBA player, Staley was named National Coach of the Year 2020 by the NCAA. She also led the US Women’s Basketball Team to Olympic Gold this summer in Tokyo.
“For a long time, South Carolina has not always been on the popular end of history,” she said. “But I stand here before you to say this was a transformational decision that was made.”
Staley arrived at South Carolina in the 2008-09 season after coaching at Temple and led the program to a national title in 2017.
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