After 16 seasons with the University of South Carolina, it is safe to say that women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley is comfortable in Columbia. The legendary is coming off a historic national championship (her second in three seasons), and while there is plenty of interest for her services, Staley doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Prior to joining South Carolina, Staley spent eight seasons with Temple in Pennsylvania. She has coached at the collegiate level for 24 years and recently spoke with Front Office Sports’ Margaret Fleming about her memorable career. One aspect she credits with her success is her close relationship with the press, especially the local media.
“I’d rather spend my time with the people that really know our team, that’s going to report back to our fan base and give them the real,” said Staley. “I think local media is the soul to the local team.”
Staley went on to say that some of the bigger networks cover a range of sports and their analysts are not specialists in a particular area. Local reporters, however, know the ins and outs of the program and, more importantly, report directly to their core fanbase.
“They’ve watched us, and they’ve followed us, and they know what our standard is, and when we don’t play to our standard, they recognize it. So it’s not like the national media who sees you once or twice or three times, and that’s their opinion,” added Staley.
South Carolina’s women’s team defeated Mississippi State in 2017 to give Staley her first NCAA national title. Since then she has gone on to win two more. With a talented roster set to return for program in 2024, it appears that South Carolina will once again start the year as one of the favorites.
