Dawn Staley is staying in South Carolina, with the Gamecocks head coach inking a seven-year, $22.4 million dollar deal with the school.
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The contract extension makes Staley one of the highest-paid coaches in women’s basketball. Her new agreement includes a base salary of $1 million per year, with outside compensation beginning at $1.9 million in the first year. Her contract also consists of a $100,000 escalation per year, topping her salary out at $3.5 million in 2027-2028.
“Contract negotiations are challenging, but this one was especially important as I knew it could be a benchmark, an example for other universities to invest in their women’s basketball programs, too. Our game continues to grow and the time is ripe to make a big step forward, but only if universities foster that growth by committing resources that are equitable to those given to their men’s programs,” said Staley of her new contract with South Carolina.
Staley’s tenure with the Gamecocks includes a 2017 NCAA Championship, seven seasons finishing in the top ten, five No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, and 2021’s top recruiting class.