Dawn Staley’s $25M extension is richest salary in women’s college hoops history, South Carolina says

Coach Dawn Staley received a contract extension on Friday that South Carolina said will make her the highest paid college women’s basketball coach of all-time at a total value of about $25 million.

Staley is signed through the 2029-30 season, earning $4 million a year to start with an annual $250,000 escalator. There’s also a $500,000 signing bonus, the school announced.

“Dawn Staley is a once-in-a-generation coach who has made a tremendous impact on the University of South Carolina,” athletics director Jeremiah Donati said in a statement. “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 led South Carolina to six of the last nine Final Fours, including each of the last four. The Gamecocks won titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024.

She is a five-time Coach of the Year.

“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,” Staley said in the statement. “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.”

Staley said she looks “forward to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone.”

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