South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley and her team have been invited to the White House to celebrate their 2023-2024 National Championship victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, a spokesman from the White House announced. The invitation is set for a Tuesday, September 10th event that begins at 11:00 PM ET.
It is unclear if the invitation will be accepted. With short notice and academic and athletic scheduling obligations abounding, there is a chance the Gamecocks will have to decline an invitation to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a third time. Classes and fall practice have begun, but the timing of this invitation to the White House is a little better than the ones that came with the program's first and second championships.
Previous invitations to visit the White House after the 2016-2017 and 2021-2022 National Championships were not accepted due to scheduling issues, including a poorly-timed November 2017 invitation after the 2017-2018 season had begun and an even more poorly-timed March 2023 invite when the Gamecocks were beginning their quest for another Final Four.
The Gamecocks finished 38-0 last season, becoming just the 5th program in women's college basketball history ever to go undefeated, joining the UConn Huskies, Tennessee Volunteers, Baylor Bears, and Texas Longhorns. The title game saw USC take down the Iowa Hawkeyes and the sport's all-time leading scorer in Caitlin Clark.
The 2024-2025 season is full of lofty expectations once again. The South Carolina basketball program is the best in the nation, and with the return of all but one contributor from last year's title team, the Gamecocks are the favorites to hoist the trophy again next spring.
The road to a repeat begins on November 4th when the Gamecocks travel to Las Vegas to take on the Michigan Wolverines as part of the Hall of Fame Series.