'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had the honor of ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to celebrate the Gamecocks' 2024 NCAA Tournament victory.
The Gamecocks were undefeated in the 2023-24 season, and Staley, along with NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kamilla Cardoso and several USC staff members, participated in the bell-ringing ceremony on Wall Street.
In a video shared by South Carolina on its Instagram stories, Staley said:
"Hi, I'm Dawn Staley, representing the national champion University of South Carolina Gamecocks, and I am super excited to be here. Obviously ringing up the bell. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that I got to share with our No. 3 draft pick [Cardoso]."
On Sunday afternoon, Staley and Cardoso paraded through downtown Columbia with the Gamecocks to celebrate their national championship win. The duo was in New York on Monday night for the WNBA draft. They had to hastily board a plane to Lower Manhattan to make it to the ring-bell ceremony scheduled for the next day at 7:30 p.m.
Cardoso was snagged by the Chicago Sky as the third overall pick in the draft. The Brazilian forward maintained an impressive average of 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season.
Dawn Staley says schools should emulate USC's treatment of women's sports
South Carolina made history as the 10th NCAA women's basketball team to end a season undefeated. Coach Staley, in an interview with CNBC's “Squawk on the Street,” shared her thoughts on the future of women's basketball.
With more people watching women's college basketball, they are starting to see the disparities and salary differences between men's and women's sports.
"We are at a point where there are more eyeballs on the game and our sport so they are seeing the disparities (and) salary disparities. But I will say the WNBA is moving in the right direction," Staley said.
However, Staley highlighted that the WNBA and women's basketball, in general, are still in their infancy stages, just like the NBA was 28 years ago.
"I do think our future is bright," Staley said. "I do think people are going to look at our sport and pour into it because they see dollar signs at the end of the day."
Dawn Staley hopes that women's basketball will attract more investments in the future as people start to see the profit potential. She also said that all schools should treat women's sports the way the University of South Carolina does.
"I hope every school or university treats women's sports like South Carolina," she said. "They invest in my salary, they invest in student athletes … and we're here."
Also Read: Is Dawn Staley an Eagles fan? Taking a look at who South Carolina HC supports besides the Gamecocks
