South Carolina’s women’s basketball program lost $6.24 million in 2025. Despite winning two championships in the last five years, Dawn Staley’s side hasn’t been able to convert that success into profit. Meanwhile, women’s college basketball is booming with rising attendance and TV ratings. So, when one of the best programs in the country was found to have lost millions, it raised eyebrows among the fans. Doubts crept in about if women’s basketball is really in a good state. However, now Staley herself has replied to the skeptics. 

“I think coaches’ salaries are great for our game. I think even people who put articles about how much we spend on our budget—that’s great too,” Staley said in the press conference. “You can see that there is investment in women’s sports and women’s basketball.”

According to the report from State, South Carolina invested “over $13 million” in its women’s basketball team in 2025 which is the highest in the SEC. That includes a $4 million salary and a $100,000 signing bonus for Staley to become the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball. It is a required investment if a program wants to succeed. Like Staley said, recruitment is largely financial in the NIL era. So, if they want the best, the program has to open the checkbook. Staley admitted that women’s basketball is not turning profits yet but opined that it will if people give it time and equal standing. 

“A lot of times there’s not a great return on your investment, but for women’s basketball programs, when you pour in, it may not hit very similarly to what it would if you were in football or men’s basketball, not until our units get up to par,” Staley said. “Once they get up to par, I think we’ll be respected even more. There won’t be articles written on how much we’re spending against the budget.”

In 2025, the NCAA introduced the units system in women’s basketball for the first time. Units for the men’s tournament equate to about $2 million each. They are based on the event’s eight-year $8.8 billion media rights agreement with Paramount (CBS) and Warner Bros. 

The women’s tournament rights are bound in ESPN’s recent eight-year $920 million package deal with the NCAA which includes all 40 collegiate championships aside from men’s basketball and the College Football Playoff. The women’s tournament is valued at $65 million per year in that deal, or approximately 56% of the total package. Many believe women’s basketball should receive a separate deal that would increase the revenue for a successful program like South Carolina. Currently, Women’s Basketball Tournament units are valued at approximately $200,000.

Once this discrepancy is reduced or, in a best-case scenario, equalized, South Carolina women’s basketball will turn a profit. Regardless, it is already the highest-performing program in the SEC as it generated the maximum revenue ($6.88 million). In addition, their 2027 revenue could earn a boost since the NCAA is now giving 2 extra units to the teams in the championship game and 1 extra to the Champion. To reach there, Staley and Co. are hoping to beat UConn in the final four.

Dawn Staley Reveals Team’s Attitude Ahead of Final Four Match-up vs UConn

Dawn Staley’s No. 1-seeded Gamecocks blew out the No. 3-seeded TCU Horned Frogs 78-52 in the Elite Eight. The Gamecocks managed their sixth consecutive Final Four and will now face Geno Auriemma’s unbeaten UConn. The Huskies are the favorites to win the national championship. They have two national players of the year contenders—Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd—in the squad. Ahead of the pivotal clash, Dawn Staley is hoping to keep up with the best team in the  country. 

 “You got to keep the game close. You got to be able to score,” she said. “Obviously, we probably aren’t going to keep them 25 points under their average. I think you just have to go pound for pound and be unafraid of playing against an undefeated team. I think the pressure of playing undefeated, if you keep it close, might get them on a bad night, I doubt it, but you might. And we’re hoping Friday is a bad night for them.”

It’s not every day the Gamecocks are the underdogs but they are against UConn. And it might benefit them. Geno Auriemma’s side has the best defense and the second-best offense in the country. On the other hand, Staley’s team has the 3rd-best offense and the 27th-best defense. So, pushing hard on the offense will be a viable option. UConn looked slightly rusty in that first half against Notre Dame. If South Carolina can replicate that, anything can happen.