Staley leaves Temple women's basketball for South Carolina

In many ways, she even became viewed as the female equivalent of a young John Chaney.

Six NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons. Four Atlantic 10 championships. The program's first national ranking. Plus 18 consecutive Big 5 victories, a streak the Owls will carry with them into next season.

Unfortunately for them, they will carry it without her. Because the operative word in that first paragraph is was.

It was a historic run, with a record of 172-80. But now, an era on North Broad Street is over.

On Saturday, the former standout from Murrell Dobbins Tech, the University of Virginia, the WNBA and the Olympics will be introduced as the new women's head coach at South Carolina, pending approval of the university's board of trustees earlier that day.

At some point, a lot of folks figured this was inevitable, even though Temple reportedly has paid her very well. Still, South Carolina is in the Southeastern Conference, and the SEC is where Tennessee, Louisiana State and others call home.

Throw in the fact that her mother, Estelle, is from South Carolina and other relatives live in that state, and maybe this simply was the right time and circumstance for her to move on.

"Dawn Staley has had a strong record at Temple," Owls athletic director Bill Bradshaw said in a statement. "We wish her the best at South Carolina."

According to the The State, of Columbia, S.C., Staley, 38, visited the USC campus last week, and Gamecocks AD Eric Hyman spent much of Saturday in Philadelphia meeting with her. A contract agreement was reached late Tuesday.

A message left on her cell phone last night was not returned.

The State, citing sources, said Staley will earn a base salary of $250,000. With incentives, the package could reach $650,000. That supposedly is $150,000 more than she made last season.

Staley will be the school's first black female head coach, and just the second black head coach overall after longtime track and field coach Curtis Frye.

Staley signed a 6-year extension with Temple in 2007 at a time when her name kept coming up for similar job openings.

Reportedly, her Temple pact included a buyout clause large enough to scare off many prospective suitors. But financial compensation doesn't seem to be a deal-breaker at USC's end. The State says her new contract will include a provision that the school will help her reimburse Temple.

Now, where does Temple go from here? Staley's top assistants - Lisa Boyer, who has been on the staff for six seasons, and Fred Chmiel (two) - reportedly are paid well, too. And there's every chance Staley will want to take them with her.

Bradshaw has made two big-time hires in recent years. Al Golden was brought in to straighten out the mess of a football program in December 2005, and Fran Dunphy was hired from Penn to succeed Chaney 5 months later. So far, both have worked out about as well as could be expected.

Staley, head coach of the women's Pan Am Games team and an assistant coach for the U.S. women's team that will compete in the Summer Olympics in Beijing, made the Temple job a really attractive one. And the university has shown a willingness to make a financial commitment to the program. There is no reason that should change now. It shouldn't have a problem finding a capable replacement, maybe even from a national pool, although certainly many familiar names with local ties will pop up. Hey, it worked once. *