June 19, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees today approved a two-year contract extension and raise for women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley. Now with six years remaining on her contract, the two-time Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist received a $200,000 raise for her effort in lifting the Gamecocks to national prominence and in uniting the community and the state in support of her program.
“Dawn Staley is an iconic figure, not just in women’s basketball but in all of athletics,” South Carolina Director of Athletics Ray Tanner said. “She has been successful in every step she has taken – as a student-athlete, college coach and USA Basketball coach. I believe that not only her on-the-court successes have made her great, but her efforts in the community and on campus have made her the leader she is today. Dawn is the type of coach that we want at the University of South Carolina, and I am glad that she is on our team.”
With the raise, Staley is set to earn a guaranteed salary of $1.1 million for the 2015-16 season. The BOT also extended the $25,000 annual increase in Staley’s previous contract to continue through the additional two years. They also further reinforced their commitment to the program and its fans by reformatting the buyout structure with significant increases if Staley opts out of the contract at any point, more than doubling the original buyout amount for the next three years of the contract.
“One of the things that has made a difference both for me professionally and for our program is the unwavering commitment from every part of our University to our success,” Staley said. “The Board of Trustees, President Pastides and Coach Tanner have consistently shown that they are invested in our program. Today’s particular commitment is important because the University also rewarded our assistant coaches and support staff, who are integral to what we have achieved on the court and off. I know we all consider our success in bringing together our University, our community and our state equally as important as the wins and NCAA Final Four appearance this season.”
Through her seven seasons at South Carolina, Staley transformed the program from one that had finished among the SEC’s top five just twice in 11 seasons to one that has not finished outside the top five for the last five seasons. That run includes back-to-back regular-season championships (2014, 2015) and the program’s first SEC Tournament title in 2015. The Gamecocks have played in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in three of the last four years, including advancing to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in program history in 2015, and ranked No. 3 in the nation in the 2014-15 final polls. The four-year seniors graduating in 2015 amassed the most wins of any senior class in program history with 113.
