Dawn Staley and Adia Barnes make history as the first black head coaches in the Women’s Final Four

The NCAA has hosted the women’s basketball tournament since 1982, but this is the first time that we will see two African-American coaches in the Final Four. This is truly a historic moment that you will not want to miss.

South Carolina’s No. 1, led by legendary trainer Dawn Staley, will face Stanford’s No. 1 at 6 pm Eastern Time. Third place, Arizona, led by promising coach Adia Barnes, will face first place UConn at 9pm.

Gender aside, two African-American techniques were not heard of during the Women’s Final Four. But the fact that they are both women is a big victory for women in sports, because Staley and Barnes are just two of the 13 black top coaches at this year’s Power Five conferences. Four of them were hired last year and seven of the 13 technicians at the same conference, the SEC.

Dawn Staley talked about why representation at this level is so important before Friday’s Final Four games:

“There are so many black coaches out there who have no opportunity because when ADs don’t see it, they don’t see it and they’re going to see on the biggest stage on a Friday night that two Black Women are playing two shows in the Final Four, something they’ve never it was done before. Our history here in women’s basketball is so full of so many black bodies that for that to happen in 2021, for me, it should have been a long time ago, but we are proud. “

Staley is correct, NCAA women’s basketball is diverse, but diversity is not at the top. According to data from the NCAA diversity survey, between 2012 and 2020, there was only a three percent increase in the number of black coaches in women’s basketball, from 21 percent to 24 percent. There was an increase of 7% in the positions of technical assistant, from 39% to 46%.

Although these increases have resulted in a decrease in the majority of white coaches, both in the position of chief coach and assistant coach, these changes appear to be minimal, as it took just under 10 years to make such small changes.

Staley’s comments continued:

Representation is important. … It is not enough to give them the job. Bring them inside. Interview them. If you don’t hire them, tell them why. Tell them why so that we can continue working and improving our craft and our profession, because there are many people out there who are not having the opportunities they should be, because this is exactly what can happen when you give a Black Woman, an opportunity . “

The data also showed that, in 2020, black coaches represented 17% of all main coaches in women’s football. This represents a three percent increase over 2012. The figures support Staley’s claim that opportunities were not granted at a rate that would promote real advances towards diversity or embrace belief in the skills of black women in the role of main coaching.

With the Four Finals clashes arriving on the national stage on Friday, and the talents of two African-American coaches on full display, I hope this game can serve as a launch pad for more diversity in women’s college basketball. This could lead to more black coaches finally having opportunities to take up positions as chief coaches in First Division institutions. But that is yet to be seen.

Dawn Staley’s path to training in South Carolina

Staley had a notable career on the court, both as a player and as a coach. As a player at the University of Virginia, she led her team to three Final Fours and a national championship game. She ended her career there with 2,135 points and held the NCAA record for steals (454) and was the ACC’s all-time leader in assists (729), both of which have since been broken. His shirt, number 24, was retired in Charlottesville.

After her university career, she started to play abroad and eventually started at ALB and later at WNBA. Staley was Charlotte Sting’s ninth overall pick for the WNBA in 1999. She played for the Houston Comets later in her career and also had a long career in US basketball, helping Americans win three gold medals in women’s basketball in 1996 , 2000 and 2004.

Garrett Ellwood / NBAE photo via Getty Images

Staley’s technical career had already started before she retired. In 2001, Temple athletic director Dave O’Brien convinced her to become the coach of the women’s basketball team while she was still playing at the WNBA. Staley continued to train and play for years until she retired from the sport in 2006. In May 2008, she announced that she would leave Temple and take up a position in South Carolina.

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The rest is history. Although it took a while to see South Carolina consistently in the final rounds of the tournament, under the leadership of Staley, the program reached three Final Fours and won a national championship in 2017.

The Adia Barnes road back to Arizona

Adia Barnes’ story brought her full circle back to her alma mater. Barnes was a member of the 1994-1998 Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team. During her time there, she helped the Wildcats in their first appearance at an NCAA tournament in their junior season. Despite being undersized for his position, 5’11 Barnes accumulated individual records, including career points and rebounds. He became the first female player in Arizona to be drafted into the professional leagues.

Barnes was drafted in 1998 by the WNBA Sacramento Monarchs and played until 2004 in the league. From there, she took her talents to overseas leagues, where she continued to play until 2010.

In 2011, she joined the University of Washington’s women’s basketball coaching staff under coach Kevin McGuff. She spent six years on the show, helping the Huskies make three tournament appearances and including an appearance in the Final Four in 2016 before taking over in her alma mater, Arizona.

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It was not the easiest transition. The Wildcats finished below 0.500 in their first season and won just six games in their second. However, she continued to build. From taking her team to their first appearance on the NCAA when she played in college to taking them to their first Final Four as a coach, her coaching career took a complete turn.

Perspective of other current and former black coaches in women’s basketball

The excitement of other women who marked their position in women’s basketball history books was more than visible. Former player, coach and now analyst Carolyn Peck shared her enthusiasm for this moment by detailing her time as a coach and how the path to this moment has been paved.

Peck had a robust coaching career, training in Tennessee, Kentucky, Purdue, Florida and Vanderbilt. In 1999, Peck became the first black technician to win a national championship with the Purdue Boilermakers. She is just one of many African American coaches who have worked their way through coaching and are waiting for this moment.

The legend and coach of the Rutgers women’s basketball team, C. Vivian Stringer, also expressed her enthusiasm in a letter to Staley and Barnes. She mentioned that she had dreamed of this day. Stringer was one of the first black coaches to make a wave in the sea of ​​university technique, having trained in the first NCAA tournament in 1982, and led his team to the Final Four.

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Joni Taylor, current female head coach in Georgia, fully supports this milestone. Taylor and Staley made history on March 7, becoming the first black coaches to face each other in a Power Five women’s championship. Taylor said:

“You cannot dream what you cannot see. So (the SEC title game) was a chance for people to dream about something they’ve never seen before. “

That dream is taking on new wings this Friday. Hopefully, it will continue to build on the foundation that can create diversity in the positions of chief trainer at the Division I level, not just for African-American coaches, but specifically for black coaches.

This Final Four is more than just the game; it’s a broader conversation about diversity, opportunity and equality, and you don’t want to miss it.