With South Carolina’s national title win on Sunday, Dawn Staley has cemented herself as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time, in the middle of what's becoming a South Carolina dynasty. 

Over the past eight seasons, Staley has led the Gamecocks to five Final Fours and three national championships (2017, 2022, 2024). Staley's Gamecocks have also won eight SEC tournaments and eight regular season conference titles since she took over in 2008. 

On Sunday, her team capped off a 38-0 season, becoming the first team to go undefeated since UConn in 2016. They’re just the 10th team in women’s college basketball history to do so.  

They did it in front of a women’s basketball record viewership of 18.7 million, which peaked at 24 million viewers on ABC. It’s the most-watched basketball game on any network, men's or women's, college or professional, since 2019. 

“I think it just cements her greatness in this time where there is so much parity in the game,” Seattle Storm assistant coach and former LSU coach Pokey Chatman told Andscape. “The rules literally have changed in the game. She’s been able to maintain the highest level of basketball – retainability, respectability, everything in between.”

What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that Staley won it all while replacing her entire starting five from last year.

At times, she’s likened this year’s team to a daycare – and even said she contemplated retirement prior to the season starting. 

She went on to win Naismith and WBCA Coach of the Year – same as the previous two seasons – and is a two-time AP National Coach of the Year. She’s also a seven-time SEC coach of the year. 

“A lot of people don’t want to see her here. I think they kind of side-eye her in some places and she is unexpected to be in those places. But she’s there and she’s 10 toes down and she’s keeping her head up, her chin up and going head forward into all adversity or anything that looks abnormal,” said former Gamecocks forward A’ja Wilson. “She’s already GOATed in my eyes but another championship is another thing that a person can’t take away from her. 

“A lot of people try to discredit her in different places like ‘well she’s still got to do this.’… She still just continues to be herself. … It’s just another cherry on the cherry on top of her legacy.”

Adding to Staley’s legacy is the fact that she was an equally-as-impressive player, leading Virginia to three Final Fours and was twice named Naismith College Player of the Year. She went on to become a six-time WNBA All-Star, and won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player. She’s also won a fourth gold medal as a coach.

At a time of unmatched parity in college basketball, Staley has built a modern dynasty at South Carolina.

“Dawn Staley is the leader of women’s basketball right now,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said after Sunday's loss. "For a while it was Pat [Summitt], then it was Geno [Auriemma]. And now it's Dawn setting the bar for everyone else."

Even as the Gamecocks have gone on an unprecedented 109-3 run over the last three seasons, Staley has been lauded for her grace and sportsmanship. In her postgame comments on Sunday, Staley took the time to commend Iowa star Caitlin Clark for her contributions to women’s basketball.

She also shouted out both her bench players — who had 37 points — and last year's seniors, who were ousted in the Final Four by Iowa.

“It was emotional for me because of how it ended last year,” Staley said. "You carry the burden of every single one of your players, all the coaches and staff members that put so much into our team."

Former Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley made her retirement official on Tuesday, announcing her exit from professional basketball in a piece for The Players Tribune, nearly three years after her final WNBA game in September 2022.

The 14-year league veteran spent the last decade of her career playing for her hometown team, helping lead the Sky to a WNBA championship in 2021 while also picking up three All-Star nods and two WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year awards.

With a career average of 10.9 points per game and 39.4% shooting from beyond the arc, Quigley also claimed four 3-Point Contest victories, winning in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022 to set a record that still stands across the WNBA and NBA.

Chicago's all-time leading scorer for years, Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot — Quigley's wife — usurped her crown just two weeks ago.

"I love knowing that I can look back on my career and say it was really, really good — but it was part of the beginning of something truly great," Quigley wrote.

Explaining that she "never actually meant to do an Irish goodbye," Quigley initially took time off to become a mom, a process that took longer than expected.

Alongside Vandersloot, Quigley welcomed their first child, daughter Jana Christine, on April 8th — an event that spurred her to officially announce her retirement.

"[A]s special as the Sky winning a championship felt, and as proud of a moment as that was, bringing a baby into the world is our accomplishment we're most proud of," said Quigley.

On Tuesday, 2024/25 UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal announced that the Gunners are making the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium their permanent home for all WSL matches on the heels of last season's successful nine-game run in the north London venue.

Arsenal dominated the WSL in attendance during their 2024/25 campaign with a total of 415,000 tickets sold, a 20% increase over the Gunners' 2023/24 season.

Even more, the club averaged crowds of over 34,000 fans for the team's nine matches hosted at the men's side's historic Highbury home.

Both Arsenal's and the league's season-high attendance came in February, when 56,784 fans packed Emirates for the Gunners' North London Derby match against Tottenham.

While all of Arsenal's 11 WSL home games will kick off at Emirates, the reigning European champs will open their UWCL defense at the significantly smaller, 4,500-capacity Meadow Park, with future Champions League matches moving to Highbury should the Gunners advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.

"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," said Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers in a club statement. "We'll come back next season, with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever."

Women's teams are big business, with global sports business conference SPOBIS International reporting this week that average WNBA franchise valuations rose to $90 million in 2024, while NWSL clubs weighed in at $104 million — doubling their 2023 mark.

In May, the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty sold shares at a $450 million valuation, qualifying them as the world's most valuable women's sports team.

SPOBIS's top five includes the WSL's Chelsea FC ($326 million) alongside NWSL side Angel City FC ($250 million), the WNBA's Dallas Wings ($208 million), the Kansas City Current ($182 million), and the Las Vegas Aces ($140 million).

US women's sports teams hold a key advantage in the race to the top of the valuations table, with WNBA and NWSL squads able operate independently from men's systems.

Having separated from their men's side last year, Chelsea FC was the only non-US team to make the list, bolstered by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's $26.6 million purchase of a 10% stake in the 2024/25 WSL champs last month.

Other European teams in line for similar value boosts include OL Lyonnes and the London City Lionesses, both independently owned and operated by Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

With many factors contributing to a team's overall value — namely capital, media deals, viewership, ownership structures, and popularity — it's tough to predict the next big thing in women's sports, but these numbers point to a red-hot market across major pro leagues.

US Soccer is heading back to college, announcing Tuesday that the federation is launching a NextGen College Soccer Committee (NCS) to help solidify NCAA soccer's place in the national development system.

The NCS will "aim to integrate the college game more deeply into the broader US Soccer ecosystem, while ensuring it remains a strong, sustainable platform for student-athlete education, player development, and community engagement."

As professional soccer careers become more viable on the women's side, an increasing number of prospects are opting to sign directly with clubs out of high school rather than follow the traditional collegiate track.

Skipping college to go pro is common in other countries, where many clubs run their own academies for promising young players.

To "properly consider the development pathway and progression to college soccer," US Soccer is also working with pre-professional organizations like Elite Clubs National League, Girls Academy, and other US youth leagues.

Members of the NCS include Kansas City Current co-owner Angie Long, NWSL COO Sarah Jones Simmer, and former Duke standout and current MLS executive Ali Curtis.

With Tuesday's announcement, US Soccer appears to be acknowledging the challenges of maintaining NCAA soccer's appeal in the face of increasingly diverse pro opportunities — while also doubling down on the value of the college game.

"College soccer is integral to the fabric and future of our sport in this country," said US Soccer CEO JT Batson. "The individuals joining this group bring unique perspectives and expertise that will help us build a model where college soccer can thrive in a modern, connected system."