On Sunday, Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes to win their third NCAA championship under Staley’s auspices. The Gamecocks are now the 10th NCAA Division I women’s basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season and the first team since UConn in 2016.
However, amid the 38-0 season and stopping Caitlin Clark from ending her red-hot collegiate career with a championship win, the streets are more focused on Dawn Staley’s drip at the championship than her phenomenal rise as a player-turned-coach.
Move over LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey as Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, the next best fashionable NCAA women’s basketball coach award goes to Staley.
Sweating Dawn Staley’s Fits
The Philadelphian and former WNBA star wore a metallic silver motorcycle jacket-style top with black trim and unique front pockets. Replete with LV logo sneakers on her feet, the outfit is from the fashion house’s recent collaboration with rapper Tyler The Creator.
Some social media users began to hate it once they realized the Louis Vuitton Graphic Accent top made with silver calfskin cost $5,370.
Dawn Staley Earns $680K Bonus
Interestingly, Staley earned a $250,000 bonus for the Gamecocks’ 87-75 win over Iowa. Her run to the title triggered bonuses of $150,000 for making the Final Four and another $250,000 for winning the title, completing $680,000 in total incentives achieved this season. This equates to a lot more Louis Vuitton drip flooding your timeline shortly. Staley earned $15,000 for winning 11 or more SEC regular season games (16-0 in the SEC). Staley also won $15,000 for finishing in the Top 25 of the AP or Coaches Poll, $100,000 for winning both the SEC regular season championship and the SEC Tournament Championship, $25,000 for being named the SEC Coach of the Year, and $25,000 for winning Naismith National Coach of the Year.
Cha-ching leads to bling bling.
However, for the naysayers of Staley’s fashion, you must not have been paying attention; Staley stays fresh. With the bonuses above on top of Staley’s $3.1 million annual salary, she can afford to be as fly as she wants to, and she exercises that privilege well. Where Mulkey is sequins and pantsuit fabulous, Staley represents the urban mentality of high-end luxury streetwear. Its nothing to see her walking up and down the sideline in the top luxury brands while her team is intimidating the hardwood with their cohesion.
With talk of her team being compared to thugs for their style of play, Staley needed to be a lightning rod of attention as her team soared into the record books and put a damper on the Caitlin Clark senior year story. Staley’s coaches also reportedly earned a bonus of one month’s base salary for simply making it to the tournament and another month’s pay for South Carolina making the Final Four.
For South Carolina associate head coach Lisa Boyer, that equates to $67,000, on top of her $400,000 annual salary. Expect a coaching core that may stunt like their mommy next season.
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