One perfect season and three national championships later, one coach gets what she deserves.
The City of Columbia unveils a statue honoring University of South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley on April 30.
The monument, created in partnership with Statues for Equality and community organizations, stands at the intersection of Senate and Lincoln streets near the university’s Pastides Alumni Center.
Staley, who has coached the Gamecocks since 2008, has elevated the program into a national powerhouse, securing three NCAA championships (2017, 2022, 2024) and six Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament titles.
Under her leadership, the team made seven NCAA Final Four appearances and produced 15 All-Americans.
Before coaching, Staley earned three Olympic gold medals as a player (1996, 2000, 2004) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Further, the statue highlights her advocacy for education, gender equity and racial justice. Through the Dawn Staley Foundation, established in 1996, she has supported youth development programs and scholarships for underserved communities.
The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. EST. It is unclear if the ceremony will be live-streamed.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846 or via email noralp@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more sports like the Dawn Staley statue, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
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