South Carolina women’s basketball practice squad ‘The Highlighters’ get NIL deal
Dawn Staley often talks about how she holds her all-male practice squad in high regard.
“We win championships, they get rings,” she told ESPN back in 2023.
Staley helped honor her practice squad, affectionately known as the “Highlighters,” again Tuesday with an NIL deal with Oofos.
“They sacrifice so much, they work so hard,” Staley said. “They come in here, part of it is they love basketball. The other part of it is they know they’re helping us. “
Oofos is a recovery footwear brand Staley has been partnered with for the past few years. The brand provides sneakers, slides, sandals, slippers, clogs and even boots.
The Highlighters were gifted with custom Oofos slides, among other things, in a video South Carolina women’s basketball posted Tuesday night to social media.
“I try to come up with just innovative gifts,” Staley said Wednesday. ”We gave (Oofos) a design, a Highlighters design, that they put on there. They’re recovery shoes. A lot of companies don’t have recovery shoes. … Recovery shoes are pretty cool. They do enough for us that I know their dogs are hurting sometimes.”
Raven Johnson told the media Wednesday that the team was tricked into thinking the Oofos were for the players. But after learning they weren’t, the team was excited the practice squad got some love.
“They prepare us so well for games and big moments,” Johnson said of the Highlighters. “I think we don’t take a win without them. They’re so hard on us. Practice is so (much) harder than games, that’s a big difference for us.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 3:25 PM.
