Dawn Staley contract: South Carolina HC reportedly triggers bonus clause as Gamecocks seal SEC regular season title.
South Carolina beat Kentucky to clinch a share of the SEC title. (Source: Imagn)
The South Carolina Gamecocks won their season-finale over the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday. The win also reportedly secured coach Dawn Staley a big payday in the process.
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According to USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz, the South Carolina coach is expected to earn $75,000 in bonuses thanks to the team´s SEC title win.
“South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley set for $75,000 bonus as Gamecocks get share of SEC regular season title by beating Kentucky. Figuring South Carolina for NCAA tournament bid and top-25 finish in at least one poll, Staley set for $130,000 in bonuses so far,” Steve Berkowitz wrote.
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The win over the Wildcats meant South Carolina finished the year with a 15-1 conference record (27-3 overall) and a share of the SEC title with the Texas Longhorns. It is their third straight regular season conference title.
Dawn Staley is considered one of the top college basketball coaches in the nation after leading South Carolina to three national titles and becoming one of the premier programs in the nation. The defending national champions have plenty of tournament experience which makes them a dangerous team in the tourney.
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The Gamecocks are now waiting for their first opponent in the SEC Tournament to be determined. If South Carolina makes a deep run, they could still get a number one seed for the NCAA Tournament. However, they might need some help to get it as South Carolina is ranked sixth in the nation.
Dawn Staley and South Carolina will be the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament
Following their 78-66 win over Kentucky, the South Carolina Gamecocks finished the season tied atop the SEC standings with the Texas Longhorns (29-2, 15-1 SEC), who beat the Florida Gators 72-46 on Sunday to finish the season.
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Both schools tied their season series which meant that to determine the first two seeds in the conference tournament, a coin toss would be required. The coin toss was broadcast by ESPN and it gave the Gamecocks the number one seed for the tourney. Texas will be seeded second while LSU and Kentucky round out the top four.
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The tournament will be held from March 5-9 in Greenville, South Carolina. With the Gamecocks and Longhorns fighting for one of the top regional seeds, the tournament could determine who gets the benefit of the top seed in the national tournament.
On the other hand, this will be Texas’ first SEC conference tournament as this is their conference debut season.
