Why ESPN chose Dawn Staley’s No. 1 Gamecocks for ‘College GameDay’ spotlight
Women’s basketball is a lifestyle in Columbia, Dawn Staley says.
Staley has watched South Carolina women’s basketball grow into a powerhouse program in her 14 years at the helm and become a national attendance leader. ESPN’s “College GameDay” show is coming to highlight it Sunday before the No. 1 Gamecocks’ regular-season home finale against the No. 12 Tennessee Lady Vols.
The pregame show begins at noon, with the Gamecocks tipping off against the Lady Vols at 1 p.m. on ABC directly afterward.
Mike Shiffman, senior vice president of production at ESPN, said USC’s “terrific” home atmosphere played a role in the decision to host the weekly pregame show at Colonial Life Arena.
“We’d expect (the atmosphere) to be terrific surrounding the pregame show as well, especially since we lead right into the game,” Shiffman told The State. “So when we saw, as expected, South Carolina’s early-season success, and a bit of a revival of sorts from Tennessee — how they’re at the top of the SEC conference, for a period of time both top-10 teams, currently both top-15 teams — we started looking at it.”
Sunday will be the first “College GameDay” broadcast from a women’s college basketball game in 11 years — and just the third time ever from a women’s game. The other two times were in 2010 at UConn and 2011 at Tennessee.
“It’s a testament to the excellent play on the court from the student-athletes, the recent history of the South Carolina program and obviously the Tennessee program, and the audience,” Shiffman said. “The audience is only growing, and that’s because the product on the court is exceptional.”
Shiffman, who oversees basketball coverage and live event broadcasts at ESPN, said the plans officially came together across the last couple of months, though the network has had women’s college basketball on its radar for “a time,” he said.
The pandemic interrupted many of ESPN’s ideas to come to a women’s college basketball game in recent years, he said, specifically when “College GameDay” didn’t travel for any shows last season due to the network’s COVID-related policies.
“This year, merging with knowing our health and safety protocols and the ability to keep people safe while having shows on the road, it was just the right time,” Shiffman said. “This matchup, on a home court that has a feverish fan base, between what really could be a rivalry for times to come here with Tennessee ... it all just came together, both in terms of logistics of health and safety, being able to travel and a marquee matchup.”
Logistically, Shiffman said the “College GameDay” set will be set up inside Colonial Life Arena at the baseline of the court. Preparations for the show will begin prior to the Gamecocks’ men’s basketball game against LSU on Saturday and be completed afterward.
The set will be broken down quickly for the game and then rebuilt with a “slightly less complex setup” for a live halftime show from the court.
“College GameDay” will be hosted by Elle Duncan and feature analysts Carolyn Peck, Holly Rowe, Andraya Carter and Stephanie White directly before the game’s tip-off at 1 p.m. Rebecca Lobo, who had previously been slated to appear on the show as an analyst, won’t make the trip to Columbia, an ESPN spokesperson told The State.
Shiffman said the matchup’s ABC broadcast, which will be South Carolina’s first time on the network, is an opportunity to show the programs to a bigger and different viewership.
“This is just a part of our ongoing process of celebrating the sport,” Shiffman said. “I think the opportunity with the game being on ABC, which generally has a broader audience, is a great opportunity to reach fans that may not be as familiar with these two teams, or what South Carolina is doing as the number one team in the country and what’s been built there.”
From Staley’s perspective, she noted the Gamecocks’ fanbase and South Carolina’s success in home games under her tenure as reasons “College GameDay” would want to pay a visit to Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina has led the country in average women’s college basketball attendance for seven straight seasons and is on pace to lead once again in the 2021-22 season. The Gamecocks have averaged 12,307 fans across their first 13 home games this season, out-performing the second-highest program, Iowa State, by nearly 3,000.
Staley’s Gamecocks are 181-34 at home, a winning percentage (.842) that’s second in school history behind Pam Parsons (.854) across 48 home games from 1977-81.
“I think that’s a pivot move,” Staley said. “Women’s basketball decision makers don’t always pivot with what’s happening on the ground in our sport. ... We’ve been a really good basketball team. We’ve been doing some historical things here, on and off the court, that I think it’s just only right to come here and experience all the things we’ve been doing.”
Staley encouraged other women’s college basketball programs to be inspired by what she’s watched unfold in South Carolina. While the support in Columbia has grown larger than she imagined, Staley believes other schools can build the same level of devotion.
“Nobody would have thought, not even myself, from an aesthetic standpoint,” Staley said. “I could imagine winning national championships. I just couldn’t imagine what it’d look like, the community and how it’s embraced our basketball team.
“It’s beautiful. It’s organic. It’s genuine. It is something that you can get behind. Seriously, anybody can do it from the way that we’ve done it.”
How to watch South Carolina vs. Tennessee women’s basketball Sunday
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (24-1, 12-1 SEC) vs. No. 12 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (21-5, 10-3 SEC)
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Watch: ABC
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 10:33 AM.
