Three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley took the reins of the University of South Carolina women's basketball program on May 10, 2008, instantly raising the Gamecocks' presence in both the Southeastern Conference and the national stage. One of the most decorated participants in United States women's basketball history, Staley joined the Gamecocks after eight seasons at Temple University where she led the Owls to four Atlantic 10 Tournament titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances and the program's first national ranking. "Athletic Director Eric Hyman has put the University of South Carolina in a position to compete on a national level because of the people he has brought into the department," Staley said. "We are going to have the resources to compete at the highest level from the practice facility to the Colonial Center. But, the biggest asset we have is the people. I got a great feel for everyone here, and they are excited about becoming winners. It's a platform on which we can be successful." Staley is no stranger to success in her career whether she's directing the game with the ball in her hand or from the sideline. In her first coaching position, she helped Temple reach the postseason seven times in her eight seasons on the bench. The Owls posted 20 or more wins in a season six times and collected the first A-10 Tournament title in school history in Staley's second season (2002). The program became just the second in A-10 history to collect three straight conference tournament titles, winning the event in 2004, 2005 and 2006, as well. With a 172-80 record, Staley left Temple as the winningest coach in its women's basketball history and was the fastest to reach 100 victories. En route to that .683 winning percentage, Staley earned WBCA Region 1 Coach of the Year honors in 2005, was twice named A-10 Coach of the Year (2004, 2005), and guided the team to a share of the regular-season A-10 title in 2007-08. She built that success on a foundation of discipline and caring. "A lot of people think that X's and O's are the biggest part of coaching, but it's actually very little," Staley said. "It's about relationships and discipline. I truly believe that the disciplined person can do anything, so I try to set up a platform on which student-athletes can be disciplined. With that, I want to build a family atmosphere that includes both the staff and the student-athletes. Once those things are in place, the basketball part becomes very easy because everyone wants to win for each other. We want to work for one another; we want to prepare people to be successful." Staley is carrying that philosophy to USA Basketball as well where she has been a member of the women's staff since February 2006 and will continue to serve through the 2008 Olympics. She helped the team to a gold medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Chile to qualify for the 2008 Olympics after the team won bronze at the FIBA World Championship in 2006. Staley served as the head coach at the 2007 Pan American Games where the U.S. won its first gold medal since 1987 and served as an assistant coach for the silver medal winning team in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament, held in Beijing, China in April 2008. "USA basketball has always been like utopia for me because it creates an environment where it doesn't really matter what you've done personally in your career," Staley said. "You set all of that aside for one common goal, and that is to win a gold medal. To be part of the coaching staff there now feels like the natural progression for me. I've given a lot to USA Basketball, and USA Basketball has given a lot back to me. I would do anything to ensure that our country is successful, because other countries are catching up. It's in my blood to be part of USA Basketball." As a player, success came early in Staley's career, beginning with being named USA Today's National High School Player of the year in 1988 as a senior at Dobbins Tech. She went on to a four-year career at the University of Virginia that featured three trips to the NCAA Final Four, including a championship game appearance in 1991 after which she was named Most Outstanding Player. A two-time National Player of the Year (1991, 1992) and three-time Kodak All-American (1990, 1991, 1992), Staley was the ACC Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992 and the league's Rookie of the Year in 1989. Finishing her career as the only player in ACC history to record more than 2,000 points, 700 rebounds, 700 assists and 400 steals, Staley is one of three players at Virginia to have her jersey retired. She was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Women's Basketball Team in 2002 and earned a spot on ESPN.com's "Top Players of the Past 25 Years." In April 2008, she was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. On the international scene, Staley made her first appearance in a USA Basketball uniform as a member of the 1989 Junior World Championship Team and 15 years later played her final international game after helping the organization to a 196-10 record. Her collection of 10 gold medals and one bronze on the world stage is highlighted by Olympic gold medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004. "When I was standing on the podium receiving my gold medal, I got a vision of young people who are less driven, who think that their opportunities to succeed are bleak," Staley said. "I try to equate it to the things I've gone through growing up in the housing projects of Philadelphia. I want those young people to feel what I'm feeling, because it's an incredible feeling to be able to realize your dream. There is no better feeling in the world than to accomplish something you worked so hard for and the people told you that you couldn't do just because of the color of your skin or the place you grew up or maybe just bad luck." Staley was also on two FIBA World Championship gold-medal teams (1998, 2002). Twice named USA Basketball's Female Athlete of the Year (1994, 2004), Staley counts carrying the U.S. flag in front of the United States delegation in the 2004 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony among her most gratifying moments on the international stage. "Being asked to carry the flag into the opening ceremony caught me off guard," Staley admitted. "It's not something I ever dreamt of or aspired to do, but it was so meaningful. It was such a prestigious thing to be able to do. I believe that if you live right and try to do the right things, things will happen to you that will catch you off guard but that are so gratifying for you. Being chosen to carry the flag for the whole United States team is one of those moments in the story of my life." Following the 1996 Olympic Games, Staley joined the Richmond Rage of the ABL, one of two women's basketball professional leagues started in the wake of USA Basketball's success on the world stage. After two all-star seasons with the organization, she switched leagues, signing with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting in 1999. Including the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Houston Comets, Staley played in the WNBA All-Star game five times and was the first player in league history to represent both the East and West teams during her career. A member of the WNBA's All-Decade Team, as selected by a panel of national and WNBA-market media as well as the league's players and coaches, Staley twice earned the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (1999, 2006) and won the WNBA Entrepreneurial Spirit Award in 1999. Following her retirement from the league, the WNBA began awarding the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award in 2007, honoring the player who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community in which she works or lives. Staley lives that mantra daily through individual appearances, the work of The Dawn Staley Foundation and in encouraging her teams to pursue community services opportunities. A spokesperson for the American Health Association, Staley directs a bulk of her service commitments through The Dawn Staley Foundation, which is aimed at giving inner-city children positive input. In the after-school programs sponsored by the foundation, participants experience a three-hour focus on academics and athletics at the Hank Gathers Recreation Center. The foundation also organizes summer leagues as well as fund-raising activities. "It is important for me to give back because I have been given so much," Staley said. "I am blessed, and I want to share my vision. I want to share my hope with people who are under-privileged and think they can't be successful with what they have. I was given some God-given talent to play basketball, but I think everyone has God-given talent to do something else. It is important to help young people figure out what that is." Local and national organizations have recognized her commitment to giving back. She has twice been presented the Wanamaker Award (1997, 2005), presented annually to the athlete, team or organization that has done the most to reflect credit upon Philadelphia and to the team or sport in which he/she excels. She is the only individual woman to ever win the award and joins Joe Frazier and Steve Carlton as the only individuals to capture the honor twice. In 2007, the Rotary Club of Tulsa named Staley its female recipient of the Henry P. Iba Citizenship Award, which is presented annually to the male and female athlete who has excelled in both their sport and their service to others.
The Staley CapsuleCoaching ExperienceSouth Carolina, head coach 2008-present Temple University, head coach, 2000-08 • 172-80 (.683) - eight seasons • Six seasons of 20 or more wins • Four Atlantic 10 Tournament titles • Six NCAA Tournament appearances, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 • One Women's NIT appearance, 2001 • WBCA Region 1 Coach of the Year, 2005 • Two-time Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year, 2004, 2005 USA Basketball, senior national team assistant coach, 2006-present • FIBA Americas Championship gold medal, 2007 • FIBA World Championship bronze medal, 2006
Playing Experience
Other Notables
Education
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