Is Dawn Staley an Eagles fan? Taking a look at who South Carolina HC supports besides the Gamecocks

Modified Apr 15, 2024 16:33 GMT

Three-time national championship-winning coach, Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley is back at the summit of college basketball as a national championship-winning coach for the third time. Staley, who joined the Gamecocks from Temple back in 2008, is making national championship victories into a habit, much to the delight of SC fans. Yet it might not surprise many of them that Staley openly supports another sports team.

Is Dawn Staley an Eagles fan?

Dawn Staley is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Staley, who is a native of Philadelphia, has an affinity with the Eagles which goes way back to her childhood. She’s also not shy of this and has proudly donned the Eagles jersey publicly, even to South Carolina games. One such instance was when she wore a Randall Cunningham Eagles jersey on Feb. 12, 2023.

On that night, South Carolina played against LSU while the Eagles prepared to face the Kansas Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Although the Eagles eventually lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs, it was a moment for Staley to proudly root for her hometown team on her platform as a coach.

Staley has attributed her success in part to her upbringing in Philadelphia. During a reception held in her honor after her first national championship triumph with the Gamecocks in 2017, Staley said (via Andscape):

“I’m proud of being from Philadelphia. I’ll tell anyone at any time that’s where I’m from. Philly people are confident. Philly people are blue-collar workers. Philly people are passionate about their sports. They are passionate about their city. They are passionate about things that are their lifestyle.”

Growing up in North Philadelphia, Daley attended Murrel Dubbins Vocational High School where the school gym is now named after her. After high school, she enrolled at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She played for the Cavaliers’ women's basketball program for four seasons before her professional career which saw her play overseas and later in the WNBA.

She made history at Virginia, leading the Cavaliers to four NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the final four on three occasions. She set the school record for all-time scoring and the ACC record for all-time assists before graduating college, although both records have now been broken.

Staley’s legendary status in basketball has been proven at every level of her career; college, professional, and now coaching. She’s a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.