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TO MEMORIALIZE THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND URGE THEM TO NAME THE BASKETBALL COURT IN THE COLONIAL LIFE ARENA TO HONOR NATIONAL CHAMPION AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST, DAWN STALEY.
Whereas, since joining the Gamecock Women's Basketball team as the head coach in 2008, Dawn Staley has created a tradition of excellence and made the Gamecocks a mainstay in the battle for Southeastern Conference (SEC) and national championships; and
Whereas, Staley's leadership has propelled the Gamecocks to unprecedented success and the accolades have poured in. Along with six SEC Tournament titles in the past seven years, the Gamecocks have earned five SEC regular-season championships, eight twenty-five-win seasons including four thirty-win campaigns led by a school record, thirty-four victories during the 2014-2015 season, and the 2017 NCAA National Championship; and
Whereas, Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the first Black female head coach at the University of South Carolina, revived a program that was struggling to stay competitive in conference play and crafted a program that has seen two top-two recruiting classes and an astounding one hundred fifty-one consecutive weeks ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 before the start of the 2020-2021 season; and
Whereas, Staley has been named the National Coach of the Year twice and was the first former Naismith Player of the Year to earn the Naismith Coach of the Year award. She holds the distinct honor as the only Gamecock basketball coach to amass three hundred victories at South Carolina and was the fastest coach to reach two hundred wins in program history; and
Whereas, it is fitting to honor those who have brought unprecedented success to the university through excellent coaching and Staley's own brand of generational leadership. Her work on the court is deserving of commemoration and naming the court in her honor would solidify the outstanding impact she has left in Columbia. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the House, by this resolution, memorialize the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees and urge them to name the basketball court in the Colonial Life Arena to honor national champion and Olympic gold medalist, Dawn Staley.
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