May 7, 2008

COLUMBIA – Three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley will be named the head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of South Carolina, subject to the approval of the University’s Board of Trustees, it was announced today. One of the most decorated participants in United States women’s basketball history, Staley comes to the Gamecocks after eight seasons at Temple University where she led the Owls to four Atlantic 10 Tournament titles, six NCAA appearances and the program’s first national ranking.

The University’s executive committee will meet Saturday morning, with a press conference to formally introduce Coach Staley tentatively scheduled for noon at the Frank McGuire Room in the basketball practice facility.

Just eight seasons into her head coaching career, Staley amassed six seasons of 20 or more wins and became Temple’s all-time winningest coach with a 172-80 record. She was twice named A-10 Coach of the Year (2004, 2005) and was the 2005 WBCA Region 1 Coach of the Year. Staley led the Owls to their first A-10 Tournament title in school history in just her second season (2002). Temple went on to become just the second team in A-10 history to collect three straight conference tournament titles, winning the event in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Since the A-10 went to a single division schedule in 2005-06, the Owls have never finished lower than third, including 2007-08 when they shared the regular-season title with George Washington.

In addition to her coaching duties at Temple, Staley has been a member of the USA Basketball staff since February 2006 and will continue to serve through the 2008 Olympics. She helped the team to a gold medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Chile to qualify for the 2008 Olympics after the team won bronze at the FIBA World Championship in 2006. Staley served as the head coach at the 2007 Pan American Games where the U.S. won its first gold medal since 1987 and served as an assistant coach for the silver medal winning team in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament, held in Beijing, China in mid-April.

Staley continued her professional playing career even after being named head coach at Temple in April 2000. Her professional career began in 1992 and included three years playing in France, Italy, Brazil and Spain before she returned to the United States to help the Richmond Rage to the ABL finals in 1996-97. A two-time ABL All-Star, Staley made the move to the WNBA in 1999, going to the Charlotte Sting as the No. 9 pick in the draft. Playing eight years in the league, she was voted an All-Star five times and earned a spot on the league’s All-Decade Team.

Also representing the United States in international competitions during that time, Staley collected three Olympic Gold Medals (1996, 2000, 2004). She is one of just three American women to earn three consecutive Olympic basketball gold medals. At the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece, she carried the United States flag in the opening ceremonies and went on to lead the team to a perfect 8-0 record. The effort delivered her second USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year award.

In her hometown of Philadelphia and around the country, Staley is known as much for her philanthropy as her basketball prowess. Beginning in 2007, the WNBA annually presents the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award to the player who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community in which she works or lives. Staley heads the Dawn Staley Foundation, which is aimed at giving inner-city children positive input by sponsoring after-school programs, a three-hour focus on academics and athletics at the Hank Gathers Recreations Center, as well as summer leagues and fundraising activities.

In 2005, Staley was presented with Philadelphia’s prestigious Wanamaker Award, presented annually to the athlete, team or organization that has done the most to reflect credit upon Philadelphia and to the team or sport in which they excel. The only woman to ever win the award, she is just the third individual to win the award twice. Staley received the Henry P. Iba Citizenship Award in 2007. The honor is bestowed annually by the Rotary Club of Tulsa to the male and female athlete who has excelled in both his/her sport and in service to others.

Dawn Staley File
Born: May 4, 1970
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.
High School: Dobbins Tech, 1989
College: University of Virginia, 1992

Coaching Experience:

• Temple University, head coach, 2000-08
• U.S. National Team, assistant coach, 2006-present
• Pan American Games Team, head coach, 2007

Playing Experience:

• Dobbins Tech, 1985-89 (1989 USA Today National High School Player of the Year)
• University of Virginia, 1989-92 (Three-time Kodak All-American, 1991 and 1992 National Player of the Year, 1991 and 1992 ACC Player of the Year, 1989 ACC Rookie of the Year)
• Various international teams, 1992-94
• ABL, Richmond/Philadelphia Rage, 1997-98 (Two-time All-Star)
• WNBA, Charlotte Sting, 1999-2005, and Houston Comets, 2005-06 (Five-time All-Star)
• USA Basketball, 1994-2004 (1994 World Championships, Goodwill Games, USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year; 1996 Olympic Gold Medal; 2000 Olympic Gold Medal; 2002 World Championships; 2004 Olympic Gold Medal, USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year)