Dawn Staley Leaves Temple University For South Carolina
The North Philly basketball legend will be missed on and off the court
This hurts. I’m sure my sadness for the city doesn’t compare to AG’s (Temple grad), but Staley’s presence here was on par with any of the men coaching in the city mainly because Dawn rescued a program that didn’t have a national identity before she took the job. She was 172-80 with six NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a prominent force at Temple, where John Chaney was–and still is–a college basketball coaching legend before he retired in 2006.
Her foundation has helped numerous at risk kids turn it all around.
In eight seasons she won 5 Big 5 Coach of the Year awards.
Dawn Staley, who carried the American flag at the 2004 Olympics and proudly bore the banner of Philadelphia sports as a socially conscious women’s basketball legend, left Temple University for South Carolina yesterday, in the process leaving an enormous hole in both her hometown and the university.
The North Philadelphia-born Staley, 38, agreed to a five-year deal to coach at the University of South Carolina that will pay her $650,000 annually, with a base salary of $250,000. The contract will be formally approved by the university’s board of trustees on Saturday, just before a news conference introducing her in Columbia, S.C.
Staley could not be reached for comment, but according to a source familiar with the negotiations, she has family in South Carolina and was eager to test her coaching skills in the powerful Southeastern Conference, the premier league in women’s basketball.
Until this week, there had been speculation that Staley would leave Temple only for her alma mater, the University of Virginia. Debbie Ryan, who coached Staley, is entrenched as the coach there.
Ultimately, though, the allure of coaching in a conference with perennial powers Tennessee, Louisiana State and Georgia proved too appealing for Staley’s competitive urges.
A heady and intense point guard, the 5-foot-6 Staley was the most honored female player from the city where the women’s game took root nearly four decades ago.
She was a high school all-American at Dobbins Tech, which won three consecutive Public League titles during her time there. She was a college all-American and the 1991-92 Naismith Award winner at Virginia, which she led to three consecutive appearances in the Final Four.
She was the star of the Richmond Rage, which reached the 1996 finals in the now-defunct American Basketball League. When the WNBA began in 1998, she was the ninth player drafted, becoming an all-star who started for both the Eastern and Western Conference in her seven-year career.
Staley was a key player on the U.S. women’s team that won gold medals in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. She will be an assistant coach for the U.S. team at this summer’s Beijing Olympics.
As the U.S. flag-bearer, she led the American team into the opening ceremonies at the 2004 Games in Athens. Staley called that the high point of her life, a symbol of what a youngster from a disadvantaged background could achieve.
Staley was the winningest coach ever at Temple. She upgraded the schedule and recruited big-time players. Two of them - Candace Dupree and Kamesha Hairston - were A-10 players of the year and first-round WNBA picks
May 8th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I ‘m saddened by this, she came in and turned the entire program around put players in the WNBA and now she’s gone. I had a serious crush on Dawn as a teenager (stop laughing). I would like to think that Temple did all they could to keep her (She’s getting 650k at SC). I hope that the program at TU continues to flourish.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
It’s cool bruh I’m sure you weren’t the only one.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
YOOOOOOO…I’ve had the BIGGEST crush on Dawn Staley for YEARS. Since the Olympics man, I’ve ALWAYS loved her. Great player and honestly an even better coach. I hope she continues to be successful in whatever she does.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Wow….I really hope she’s successful…she’s got a lot of work ahead but if anyone is up to the task, its her.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
nice write-up Mizzo and glad to see it wasn’t hijacked either… kinda hard to turn down $650K, but hopefully she left a foundation in place to thrive at Temple… unless recruits specifically came to play for her… I don’t know the answer to that
May 8th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Is she wearing shoulder pads in that pic?
May 8th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Coach has inspired girls and boys, men and women, and with her leaving her native North Philadelphia for Columbia, SC…the void she leaves behind is like that left by Coach Chaney. Point blank she is going to earn great pay in a better conference and MOST importantly, Columbia, South Carolina is a MUCH better environment to live in, than North Philadelphia.
Coach Staley was my first summer league coach. She is from Ramon Rozen Housing Projects on 24th and Diamond. She grew up here, and gave back. There is nothing else to left to do or prove, and her foundation is in good hands with Dr. Nelson.
I’ll miss you around the way coach, nevertheless the way Philly is now, I don’t blame you. I’m trying to escape as well.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
David Mac, please leave Coach Dawn Staley out of your antics. Please, I’m asking nicely.
I’ve made 3 posts this week, and I was going to post this story, however I’ve noticed a pattern that you JACK everything I do. So I sent this to Mizzo and asked him to post this.
Coach Staley is a true American ICON. She even assisted me and my family a few years ago. Giving me money from her pocket just because she cares about her community. If you have a problem with what she has on, send us pictures of you and try not to get upset when strangers throw darts and jabs.
I mean this is the Internet, so we do not interact other than words. All I’m saying is, for Coach, not for me, please have some respect.
Thank you so very much.
Peace be upon us.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:31 am
AG, it may not be personal to you but might be that you give a internet time to women in sports which violate’s DMac’s code of “barefoot and pregnant”… frankly a writing shortcoming of my own is that I just haven’t given women athletes and sexism the attention they it deserves on a regular basis, but seeing how you and Mizzo stay on it in general should help me me to refocus
It would be great to see South Carolina achieve Final Four status level. Dawn should help recruiting…
May 9th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I have a daughter who is quite the young athlete. Triple double threat–with blocks–in basketball. Power to all fields with track speed in soft ball.
I’m learning a lot about the competitiveness of women in sports and as far as I can see they’ve got men beat collectively on the youth level.
They get back on d without berating the refs and run to the dugout after striking out.
It’s amazing to watch.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:08 am
she obviously got her Daddy’s genes!!!
…aside from that, I am convinced that sports teaches valuable learning lessons that transcend the field or court and are transferable in business in life… sports for women growing up is a very big deal in that regard… this is another reason I am rooting hard for the NBA…
May 9th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Staley was as good a point guard as I’ve seen. Tenacity and decision-making!
May 9th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I’ll be honest, Staley and I are contemporaries, and so I had more than a schoolboy crush on her, shid I was madly in love with her (along with Lisa Bonet)!
Although I never met her, she always seemed like someone whose heart was as big as her game, and I’m glad that you’ve confirmed my assumption with your own personal observations, AG.
On the one hand, I often wish that our best and brightest would stay committed to our Black schools and communities for the long-term (I know Temple is not an HBCU, but you get my point…), but I can also understand the allure of coaching in the SEC, especially for someone like Staley who has proven her committment and worth to the community and to young Black women time and time again. Hopefully, she can go there and rescue some of the SEC’s Black athletes (women and men) from the conveyor belt, and do some good for our top-tier D1 athletes, for a change.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
She’s 2years and 3 days older than me. I remember she was still at Va. and me and some of my homies were at McGonigle Hall checkin out some summer league B-Ball games, so one of my homies knew her and called her over and told her that I had a crush on her, she turned red, I don’t know what color I turned because I’m dark but everytime I saw her after that we always spoke to one another.
I gotta admit a bruthas game wasn’t tight back them. Not for an All-American anyway.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Ron that’s some comedy bruh. My game was not that tizight either. Dawn was the truth.
Any brotha that has a sista that can ball?
That’s that good stuff.
You and AG coming by the crib or what?
May 9th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
They stayed settin me up, I was always the butt of the joke. I would walk down the street and they would all be on the steps talkin and I’ll get about 10ft away and everyone would get up and walk away. Crazy stuff man.
I’m gonna try and make it Q has another recital at school tonight. But I’m gonna try and come through.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
That’s what brothas do. I’ll never forget a couple of my boys and my COUSIN giving me a soda and telling me they got it out of the trash after I took a gulp.
Punk asses…
You can bring Q if you want. Got the PS3 in the loft so he can get down.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Ok hopefully everything runs on schedule.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:37 am
I had the pleasure of meeting coach Staley this weekend at her camp. Think that she along with her staff are awesome. I can not wait until the season begins.