Lisa Bluder: Dawn Staley is the leader of women's basketball

Women’s basketball hit a new height on Sunday, with nearly 19 million people watching the national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina. That’s more than the men on the following night — a historic moment for the sport. Stars such as Caitlin Clark have led the way but Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder made sure to give credit to Dawn Staley.

Players can only stay for four years but Staley has been a constant in women’s basketball over the years. Nobody promotes the game better and it goes outside of college. Staley was the Olympic head coach as well, being a mentor at all levels.

“Obviously, Dawn Staley is the leader of women’s basketball right now,” Bluder said. “She’s our Olympic coach. She is the person that we are all looking up to. And she’s somebody that, when she says something like that to a player, it should make them feel really good.”

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Since arriving at South Carolina, Staley has had nothing but success. Six Final Fours and three national championships are on the resume, with the latest occurring in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon. The Gamecocks finished with a perfect record as well, being the first to do so since UConn in 2016.

With the Olympic team, a gold medal was earned at the 2020 Summer Olympics, her first as a head coach. She was previously an assistant coach for the program as well.

Promoting more than South Carolina players has been a common occurrence too. Staley wants to prop up every single star in women’s college basketball. And despite going up against Clark in the national title game, Staley had uplifting words for her — something Bluder appreciated.

“I’m thrilled that she acknowledged Caitlin and her greatness, I really am,” Bluder said. “I think that Caitlin is going to continue to have this kind of impact in the WNBA. Indiana is doing well with their ticket sales. I know Las Vegas had to move to a different, bigger arena when Indiana comes to town. So those are all really good signs that women’s basketball is in a good spot.”

As a few stars move on to the WNBA, Staley is going to remain with South Carolina and continue to promote women’s college basketball. The game has never been in a better spot and everyone hopes the positive momentum rolls into the 2024-2025 season.