National champs? ‘We’re No. 1 in my mind,’ Tanner says of Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks
On the court, South Carolina women’s basketball looked close to unstoppable at the end of the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks stood at 32-1 overall, 16-0 in SEC play, ranked No. 1 in Associated Press and coaches polls and likely to be named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
Then, in just a few short days, it all came to an end, not at the hands of an opponent but due to the growing spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. The NCAA canceled all winter and spring championships this past week, ending the Gamecocks’ chances at a second national title to go with they one they won in 2017.
The NCAA has given no indication it will recognize a national champion. When asked Friday about the possibility that South Carolina might go ahead and claim a title for itself, athletics director Ray Tanner demurred a little.
“Well I think it’s too early to have those conversations. And not to be avoiding your question, but our focus has certainly been on the COVID-19 in the last few days,” Tanner said. “I will add that we were on quite a run and, if I’m not mistaken, we were 32-1, we were ranked number one in both the polls, and we won a regular season title and the tournament championship. So in my mind, we’re number one.”
Speaking on ESPN shortly after the NCAA’s announcement, coach Dawn Staley repeatedly said it was the right decision to cancel the tournament for public health reasons.
“I think when it comes down to how it’s impacting the rest of our country and what it can do, and it’s spreading so rapidly. The NCAA acted probably quicker than we wanted them to, but it was the right decision,” Staley said.
But she also voiced what many USC fans were thinking as soon as the news became public: If there would be no tournament, did that make No. 1 South Carolina the national champion?
“I’m probably gonna stir up some folks — we ended the season as the No. 1 team in the country with the best record in the country, the only team that won their regular season and conference tournament undefeated,” Staley said. “If they’re gonna pass out a national championship trophy, we got our hands out at South Carolina.”
The final women’s AP Top 25 will be released at noon Monday.
There’s a precedent for what Staley is describing — in the early days of college football, well before the BCS and the College Football Playoff, schools would “claim” national titles based off various polls and ranking systems.
The most recent example of a disputed national title claim is also a controversial one — UCF finished the 2017 football season with a perfect 13-0 record and proclaimed itself national champion, despite virtually every major poll and ranking system favoring Alabama (and several other schools) ahead of the Group of 5 team. That in turn prompted some criticism from those who felt the Golden Knights were not the best team and took the celebration too far.
But Tanner didn’t seem all that concerned about any such reaction if South Carolina were to hang a banner and proclaim itself women’s basketball national champion for 2020.
“I haven’t given that a lot of thought. There probably would be blowback. I’m not one to be concerned about a lot of things like that, quite honestly,” Tanner said. “So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but we’re extremely proud of what coach Staley and her team have accomplished. We’re disappointed that we can’t continue, but we understand and she understands. And we’ll deal with that situation at a different time. But we’re not done with it.”
USC’s claim to a title feels quite a bit stronger than UCF’s. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in the last nine AP polls and five coaches polls and ended the year atop the RPI as well. They swept through the SEC in perfect fashion to claim both regular season and tournament conference titles and defeated 13 ranked opponents all year long.
Carolina’s biggest competition for a claimed title would likely be Oregon, who checked in at No. 2 in the AP and coaches polls, as well as RPI. The Ducks claimed regular season and conference titles in the Pac-12, the top-rated conference in the country by RPI, but they lost two games to South Carolina’s one, including one in conference play.
Beyond just pride and a banner, there are financial implications to any potential decision the NCAA or South Carolina makes. Staley, like many coaches, has incentive-based bonuses written into her contract. If South Carolina wins the NCAA tournament, she earns an extra $400,000. If the Gamecocks make the Final Four, she makes $200,000.
“Well certainly she has already reached some of her incentives,” Tanner said Friday when asked how such bonuses would be handled with a suspended or canceled season. “I know that for a fact. How we address that going forward is a question, and that hasn’t been a focus at this point. It will be at some time going forward but not yet.”
When specifically asked if a claimed national title would result in Staley earning that specific bonus, Tanner gave a non-committal answer.
“You’re asking some very difficult questions. And again, I’m not trying to be elusive. I think that coach Staley will tell you that our relationship is strong, and she’s been treated very well here in her personal situation and it won’t be any different. And it won’t be any different now,” Tanner said.
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
