COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley’s statue will soon be unveiled.
In 2023, it was announced that the iconic coach would be honored with a statue. It was revealed on April 28 that the unveiling will occur at 4 p.m. on April 30.
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The statue will be located at the intersection of Senate Street and Lincoln Street, next to the Pastides Alumni Center.
The City of Columbia worked with with Statues for Equality, an art initiative that works to increase gender diversity in public monuments.
“This tribute celebrates not only her championship legacy as a coach and player, but also her unwavering commitment to leadership, community empowerment and uplifting future generations,” the April 28 news release stated. “Dawn Staley’s influence continues to inspire both on and off the court, and this statue stands as a lasting symbol of excellence, resilience and pride for Columbia and the entire state of South Carolina.”
Though Staley fell short of securing her fourth national championship with a loss to UConn in the final on April 6, she is tied for the fourth-most national titles in women’s college basketball with Tara VanDerveer.
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If she secures her fourth, she would be tied with LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who has won three with Baylor and one with the Tigers.
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In 17 seasons at South Carolina, Staley has had six Final Four appearances and seven 30-win seasons, in addition to nine SEC tournament championships. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, a year after being inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Her statue will be located a half-mile from legendary South Carolina player A’ja Wilson’s statue, which sits right in front of Colonial Life Arena.
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Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Statue of Dawn Staley, South Carolina basketball coach, to be unveiled
