Dawn Staley, coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team, has earned admiration for her sportsmanship and support of HBCUs. Players from Southern University, who faced Staley’s team in the NCAA Tournament, shared their experiences of meeting her.
Southern Players Inspired by Staley’s Words
The No. 1 seed Gamecocks hosted the No. 16 seed Jaguars on March 21. Staley spoke to both teams once they got to Columbia. Several Southern players told Staley she smelled nice, and Staley gifted samples of her Louis Vuitton perfume to the entire team.
Southern guard Jocelyn Tate said, “As soon as she got in the room, I want to say the whole room smelled like Dawn. All of my teammates just kind of noticed that so we told her.” D’Shantae Edwards, also a Southern guard, admitted, “I was hugging her so much. I just kept smelling it. I kept going back for more hugs, too. I was like wow, she smells really good.”
Tate added, “I think a lot of my teammates and I, we look up to Dawn. We’re definitely a fan of hers. Having her come in and be able to give us a speech and just talk to us I think it was very insightful and I’m very thankful for her… it shows what kind of person she is. A lot of coaches wouldn’t do that. So I’m very thankful and I’m just glad I got to hear her in person and get some insight from her.”
Staley’s Commitment to HBCUs
Southern is an HBCU located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staley has been vocal about scheduling games with HBCUs.
When Staley had issues scheduling games in 2024, she agreed to a home-and-home series with Coppin State, an HBCU in Maryland. The Gamecocks travelled to play Coppin State on Jan. 18. Staley said South Carolina scheduled games with “some HBCUs just to lift up every aspect of our sport” and that “not every team will go and play an HBCU on their home court and we feel like it’s a great game, competition and coaching. If we can lift because we play the game and get some notoriety to the HBCUs, then we’ll do that.”
Beyond the Game
Edwards said, “I think it shows how good of a person she is, it’s not just about basketball. She knows what being in an HBCU is like, she knows where it comes from the bottom to go to the top… I feel like her coming and giving us words of encouragement meant a lot as a team and honestly meant a lot to me as a person because it’s bigger than the game for her. It’s about growth as a player. It’s about growth as a person and you can see that when she was talking to us.”
Staley’s first NCAA Tournament was in 2012 and she hasn’t missed a March Madness since. This is Southern’s eighth March Madness appearance. It’s the 10th time that South Carolina has hosted a regional, all under Staley.
Competitiveness sometimes even heightens admiration.