Sports Illustrated unveiled its list of the 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports this week and included among these legendary athletes, coaches, and other sports icons was University of Virginia alum Dawn Staley. SI broke the list down into different categories of influential sports figures and Staley was indexed right at the beginning in a section called “Icons and Leaders” that also included LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Simone Biles, Tom Brady, and Lionel Messi.
Here’s what Sports Illustrated associate editor Clare Brennan had to say about Dawn Staley in the influential figures story, which can be read in its entirety here:
“At a time when women’s college basketball has attained the kind of liftoff that its supporters had long hoped for, it’s fitting that a stalwart of the sport is running its greatest powerhouse. Last season Staley, a two-time Naismith player of the year as a point guard at Virginia in 1991 and ’92 and six-time WNBA All-Star, coached South Carolina to its third national title since 2017. The young Gamecocks were sixth in the preseason rankings but went undefeated and topped Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game. And guess what? Most of the team’s core players are back for the 2024–25 season, meaning Staley will have a good shot at cutting down the nets once again and further enhancing her iconic status in the game.”
While Staley’s inclusion on this list is mostly due to her remarkable accomplishments as a coach, basketball fans at the University of Virginia were the first to witness her legendary rise in the sport. In her four years playing for Debbie Ryan and UVA women’s basketball program, Staley was twice named the Naismith College Player of the Year, twice named the ACC Player of the Year, twice named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year, and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1991 NCAA Tournament. Staley powered the Cavaliers to three-consecutive Final Fours from 1990-1992 and the national title game in 1991 and finished her career as Virginia’s all-time scoring leader, the ACC’s all-time assists leader, and the NCAA’s all-time steals leader, though those records have since been broken.
Staley went on to become a six-time WNBA All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, but her most impressive achievements have come as a coach. Her first head coaching stint was at Temple in her home city of Philadelphia, where she led the Owls to six NCAA Tournaments and four conference tournament titles in eight seasons.
Since taking over as head coach in 2008, Staley has cemented South Carolina as a powerhouse in the now rapidly-growing sport of women’s college basketball. In 16 seasons, Staley has coached the Gamecocks to eight SEC regular season titles, eight SEC tournament championships, five Final Fours, and three NCAA national titles, including the school’s first national championship in 2017, another in 2022, and most recently, a perfect 38-0 season in 2024, the 10th such undefeated season in women’s college basketball history.
As a four-time Naismith Coach of the Year and a member of both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, there’s no questioning Dawn Staley’s inclusion on this list of the most influential figures in sports.
