Future is bright with 2 Black coaches in Final 4
Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Arizona’s Adia Barnes will make history Friday night when their teams tip off in their national semifinals.
The other two coaches in the Final Four couldn’t be happier for them, or the future of women’s basketball.
“They’ve paid their dues, and they’re tremendous role models for all the women in the game, but maybe especially the women of color in our game,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said Thursday. “To see two women in the Final Four, you know Black women, it’s fantastic.”
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Barnes and Staley are just the tip of the iceberg as players start coaching and put their spin on the game.
Barnes and Staley are two of only 13 Black women who coached in Power Five conferences this season.
While there is more work to done to address the diversity deficiency, C. Vivian Stringer told Staley and Barnes she was proud of them, writing in a card that she had dreamed of this day. Staley shared the note on Instagram. Barnes called the package from Stringer meaningful and touching.
“She’s one of the first that put black female coaches on the map and she’s done so many things, one of the most successful in the business,” Barnes said. “So to receive something like that from her means a lot to me.”
Carolyn Peck became the first Black woman coach to win a national title in 1999 with Purdue, and Staley won a title in 2017. Stringer coached in the first NCAA national championship game in 1982 and led two other teams to the Final Four. Pokey Chatman coached LSU in back-to-back berths in 2005 and 2006.