Staley’s $25M deal richest in women’s hoops

South Carolina announced Friday that Dawn Staley has received a contract extension through the 2029-30 season that will make her the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball.

The contract, approved by the university’s board of trustees, starts with an annual salary of $4 million, includes a $500,00 signing bonus and has an annual $250,000 escalator, bringing the total value to approximately $25.25 million.

“Dawn Staley is a once-in-a-generation coach who has made a tremendous impact on the University of South Carolina,” athletic director Jeremiah Donati said. “She has elevated the sport of women’s basketball on the national level and here on campus, and I am excited that she will be representing our University for many years to come.”

Staley has won three national championships since taking over the program in 2008, including last season’s 38-0 title team. Going back to the 2013-14 season, the Gamecocks are 165-15 in SEC regular-season play. They have won or tied for the league regular-season title eight times in that stretch, and won eight SEC tournament titles.

Staley was making $3.2 million this season before the extension went into effect. UConn’s Geno Auriemma, who has won 11 NCAA titles with the Huskies, is making $3.34 million this season. LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who won three NCAA titles at Baylor and then led LSU to its first in 2023, is making $3.25 million this season.

Staley, Auriemma and Mulkey and Maryland’s Brenda Frese, who led the Terrapins to the NCAA title in 2006, are the only active head coaches who have won the national championship in women’s basketball.

Staley also guided to the United States women’s basketball team to the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

South Carolina’s only loss this season came in November to UCLA. The No. 2 Gamecocks are 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the SEC, and they host No. 13 Oklahoma on Sunday (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET).

“I’m proud to represent the University of South Carolina and of its investment in women’s basketball,” Staley said. “What we’ve been able to accomplish on the court is a testament to what can happen when you bring together the right people from a team perspective but also have the right commitment from the university, the athletics department and the community to providing that team with everything it needs to be successful.”

According to the Charleston Post and Courier, if Staley terminates the contract before its end, she would owe the school the full amount of the remaining contract, with one exception: if she takes a head coaching or assistant job in the WNBA or NBA.