By Shaun White
(Source: HBCU Sports)
When Dawn Staley brought South Carolina to the small HBCU in Baltimore, Maryland, Coppin State, the final score (90-48) was never the point. It was about the moment.
“This is a measuring stick,” Staley said.
Those words framed the entire afternoon. Not as charity. Not as optics. But as access. And in women’s basketball, access still matters—especially for HBCU programs.
A Measuring Stick, Not a Favor
Staley made it clear why this game happened. She has lived the other side of it.
“I can remember when I was at Temple, we couldn’t get very many high-level Division I teams to play us on our home court,” Staley said. “So I always think about those times and give people an opportunity to play a game like this.”
That experience shaped her thinking. It also explains why this game stood out. Top programs rarely play true road games at HBCUs. This one did.
More importantly, Staley explained the value beyond the scoreboard.
“You have to continue to familiarize yourself with playing at that level in order to reach that level,” she said. “If we played them again, would it be a 42-point game? Probably not. Because they’ve learned.”
That perspective matters. Growth requires exposure.
The Packed Gym Was the Proof
The environment inside Coppin State’s Physical Education Complex mattered just as much as the matchup.
“That gym was packed,” Dawn Staley said. “This is the most people who have attended a women’s basketball game here.”
Then came a correction from inside the room. Someone pointed out that the crowd ranked second, not first, behind a previous game involving LSU.
Staley paused, smiled, and clarified.
“LSU had 4,100. Today was 3,300,” she said. “You should’ve told me that before we got here today.”
The line drew laughter, but the point underneath it remained unchanged.
For Dawn Staley, the ranking wasn’t the takeaway. The environment was.
“That gym was packed,” she repeated. “You really get to experience a bigger fan base.”
She explained why that visibility matters, especially for programs like Coppin State.
“You expose yourselves to maybe somebody who enjoys watching the game,” Staley said. “If you could get one or two people to come back, get season tickets, just watch and support, then you’re moving the needle.”
Even in a light moment, Staley stayed consistent in her message: people in the seats change the future of a program.
The HBCU Lineage Behind the Decision
When the conversation turned to history, Staley reached back.
“I know Yolanda. Coach Stringer,” she said. “We’re being carried on their shoulders.”
She was referring to Yolanda Laney and C. Vivian Stringer, whose work at Cheyney University helped shape women’s basketball long before the sport reached its current popularity.
“When it wasn’t as popular as it is today, they were in the trenches doing historical things,” Staley said. “We lose sight of that because we’re so into what’s happening today.”
That history, she explained, brings responsibility.
“We’re No Longer Just Existing”
Staley framed the current era of women’s basketball as a turning point.
“We’re no longer in a position of having to just exist,” she said. “We’re in a position to take now, because we know we’re in high demand.”
She credited coaches like Stringer for laying that groundwork decades earlier.
“She was fighting this fight 40, 50 years ago,” Staley said. “Now when you fight the fight, things are being done about it.”
That context explains why Coppin State mattered. This was not symbolic. It was structural.
Why This Game at Coppin State Mattered
Staley did not treat South Carolina’s visit as an exception. She treated it as continuity.
On MLK Weekend in Baltimore, the HBCU hosted more than a national power. It hosted a moment rooted in history, belief, and access.
Dawn Staley made sure everyone understood that.
