South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley made a smart move with her recent addition to her program, welcoming former Gamecocks head coach Susan Walvius back into the fold in a newly defined role aimed squarely at navigating the modern NIL landscape for women's basketball. Walvius, who guided the Gamecocks over a decade before Staley, has not been a part of the college basketball world in those years. But Staley said the timing is perfect, and with the needs of today's game, this reunion was the right move.
Speaking after the Gamecocks' win over Duke at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, Staley called the hire a "full-circle moment" and noted that the distance from Walvius' tenure at South Carolina made it the ideal time to reintroduce her to the program. Staley highlighted the leadership and mentorship initiatives Walvius once spearheaded during her coaching career, praising her for willingly reviving and expanded that work to the current team.
After leaving USC, Walvius and longtime assistant Michelle Marciniak co-founded SHEEX, a performance-bedding and sleepwear company built using the same design as elite athletic apparel. The pair of former coaches scaled SHEEX into a thriving multimillion-dollar enterprise, experience Staley believes is invaluable as name, image, and likeness reshapes the college sports economy. “In this era, you have to operate with a business mindset,” Staley said. “Susan has built a major corporation from scratch, and that’s the kind of innovative thinking you need to help athletes navigate NIL.”
Walvius will oversee the Gamecocks' operations, including any fundraising efforts, educational programming for student-athletes, and mentorship for Carolina players building thier own brands. Staley also emphasized that Walvius' ability to provide "direction" as well as "financial literacy" made her the best person for the job.
With South Carolina chasing another national championship, Staley now has the opportunity to pair her on-court dynasty with the business expertise of the coach who was at the helm previously.