Gamecocks Celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day
South Carolina Athletics celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Wednesday with a special dinner at Colonial Life Arena, attended by student-athletes, coaches, staff, and Gamecock alumnae for an evening of celebration and recognition. Founded in 1987, National Girls and Women in Sports Day marks 40 years of progress and highlights the importance of sports in building confidence and leadership for girls and women.
“If you look at when this all started up until now, there has been a big jump in, not only opportunities, but the advancement of women in sports,” said Executive Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator Maria Hickman, who is also a former student-athlete after playing basketball at Mars Hill College. “For women and girls who have played sports, I think it has enhanced their life in so many ways. I think about what it has done for me with the network it has created, being able to travel and see the world, and being able to use that same opportunity that was afforded to me for people that are younger than me to not only play in sports, but to work in sports.
“If you think about how big it is now compared to where we started, if we can continue that growth, it’s amazing to think where we can be in ten, twenty, and thirty years.”
“I’m inspired by women who have tirelessly fought for our game to grow, fought for girls’ sports to grow, and women’s sports to grow,” South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said at her media availability on Wednesday. “Tara VanDerveer, Debbie Ryan, Anne Donovan, Vivian Stringer – all of those coaches that loved up on our game when it wasn’t popular or as popular as it is today. So, it’s always a special time to not only showcase what these talented young ladies are doing, but we also have to reach back in our history because without them, there wouldn’t be any of us.”
A panel consisting of current female athletics staff, coaches, and former student-athletes were on hand to speak to the Gamecocks and also answer questions.
“This is something that is truly important to me,” said former South Carolina track All-American and two-time Olympic gold medalist Natasha Hastings (2005-2007), who is now a mental health clinician for the Athletics Department and was one of the panelists at the event. “My message to today’s female athletes is to take advantage of all the resources that are available to you now. When I look back, I had a number of things available to me when I was here, but now, it’s so much more than what we had. You don’t realize all that you have until you’re gone. All of the networking and connections that you make while you’re in school, your education, and all of those other resources you have, you need to take advantage of them.”
“I think we’ve made so many strides in the playing aspect of it. We’ve made a lot of progress, but yes, we need more on the professional side of it.”
Hearing how far women in sports has come brings perspective for today’s student-athletes.
“It’s a very big honor to compete at this level,” said sophomore equestrian Chloe Canter. “I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have. It really means a lot.”
Nationally, the 2026 theme for National Girls and Women in Sports Day is “Lead Her Forward,” which focuses on the growth and empowerment of girls and women in sports, which includes advocating for gender equality, protecting Title IX, and recognizing the positive impact of sports participation on women’s lives, while also encouraging participants to continue to break down barriers for girls in sports.
“I think there are always areas we can do better,” Hickman said. “I’ll never say that we are satisfied where we are as far and women and girls in sport. It’s still a male dominated environment, so you have to have a thick skin if you are a woman and figure out which battles you are going to fight if you’re a woman in the room. I think we’ve made so many strides in the playing aspect of it. We’ve made a lot of progress, but yes, we need more on the professional side of it. We need more (female) Athletics Directors, Commissioners, and more opportunities for women to be seen and heard.”
Check out what some of our former Gamecocks are doing now!
