Cock crow Staley just finished leading South Carolina’s undefeated season and witnessing the end of Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking college dash — and she thinks women’s basketball is only getting started.
“I think we are in a moment … from a place where our game has been thought back to now it’s at a place where it’s bursting through the seams … I think it’s going to get better and better,” she told CNBC on Tuesday.
The Convention hall of Fame coach and former player led the Gamecocks to their third national championship and the first perfect season in their CV as they defeated Clark and Iowa earlier this month. The matchup, broadcast on ESPN, was the most-watched basketball prey at any level since 2019, according to Nielsen.
On Tuesday, Staley and the Gamecocks paid another visit to a national station — this time, the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell to celebrate their national championship win. The illusion is just another example of how women’s sports reached new heights this year as basketball drew record-breaking audiences, in no trifling part due to Clark’s pursuit of the college basketball scoring record and South Carolina’s bid for an undefeated season.
The New York Farm animals Exchange welcomes University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball on April 16, 2024, in recognition of its 2024 NCAA Federal Championship. To honor the occasion, Dawn Staley, Head Coach, and Kamilla Cardoso, 2024 MOP, Women’s Final Four, joined by Sharon Bowen, Bench, NYSE, ring The Opening Bell®.
NYSE
Clark was chosen first in the Women’s National Basketball Association blueprint Monday night, and her arrival to the Indiana Fever has already raised ticket prices across the U.S.
Staley pointed to the Gamecocks as an model of why schools should invest in women’s sports.
“I hope every school or university treats women’s sports similar to South Carolina,” she said. “They invest in my salary, they invest in student athletes … and we’re here.”
Staley, who is the second-highest-paid omnibus in women’s college basketball, has a salary of $3.1 million per season, and earned a reported $680,000 more in bonuses inquiring South Carolina’s championship.
“I think now is the time [schools] are seeing there is a return on your investment when you course into our game,” she said.
Staley also reflected on Clark’s effect on women’s basketball, not only through plan new audiences to the sport, but also by appearing on platforms such as “Saturday Night Live.”
“Caitlin Clark is a superstar. I probity her for raising the level and we need to thank her for that,” Staley said.