Culture, community, and the Dawn Staley effect on MLK weekend at Coppin State

Fans arrived early and stayed late.

One tossed a replica red USA No. 5 jersey down from the upper deck to be signed. Others wore garnet-and-black jerseys, shirts, hats, and jackets, while one fan stood out in a retro teal-and-purple No. 5 Charlotte Sting jersey. Another South Carolina fan walked in with silver and crimson pom-poms. Some posed for selfies. Others waited patiently with books in hand, hoping for an autograph.

The final horn sounded, yet nobody moved.

Everybody wanted a piece.

Dressed in a black sweatsuit and wearing a gray hat, South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley remained the center of attention 45 minutes after her postgame press conference ended. Long after second-ranked South Carolina’s 90–48 victory over Coppin State inside the Physical Education Complex, the noise never faded, and lines still stretched across the floor as security on either side made a futile attempt to keep them single file.

As soon as the game ended and teams left the floor, parents lifted children onto shoulders. There were kids in oversized jerseys. College students and alumni stared. A sea of garnet, black, denim, and hope clustered around Staley as she tried to exit the arena and reach the locker room through a roped-off path. South Carolina team officials tried to get Staley away from the madness, but the legendary coach was unhurried and savoring the moment, creating lifetime memories for fans.

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Others simply waited, content just to be close, just to say they were there. Waiting was part of the memory. They lingered for proximity, for a brush with something larger than the game that had just ended, unwilling to miss the moment she emerged. They were drawn in by the quiet magnetism of someone who represents more than wins.

“Man, this is the Dawn effect,” first-year Coppin State head women’s basketball coach Darrell Mosley shared with The IX Basketball as Staley signed autographs nearby inside of the arena postgame. “Prior to this game, we averaged about 100 or 150 fans at our home games. Dawn comes in town and it’s almost a sell-out. For her willing to come and play at HBCU and bring awareness to HBCUs, exposure, media and visibility, she’s the goat for that. We appreciate her.”

The 3,371 fans, second largest in Coppin State women’s basketball history, showered Staley with thunderous applause when she emerged from the locker room and into the arena at 11:50 a.m. Smiling, Staley tapped her heart twice with her right hand to acknowledge the love she received.

This was an event and a unique experience for Staley’s Gamecocks. She expressed that exclusively to The IX Basketball following her postgame press conference.

“We want to make sure that our kids are getting great experiences,” said Staley, who coached in a crimson Gucci sweatshirt and matching sneakers said to The IX Basketball. “Obviously, the basketball is important, the academics are important, but the experience that you can provide to come into an environment like this one that probably, I don’t think any of our team has been an environment like this, where you’re on the campus of an HBCU.

“I don’t even think they really understand the magnitude of what they just experienced. I think sometimes it’s just basketball to them, but I’m sure all of them will bank this in their in their memories and I know they’ll share with their siblings, their families and their future families.”

A mosiac of excellence, Coppin State was a blend of culture, community, connection, and celebration, with HBCU pride crackling throughout the arena. Though nearly half the crowd wore South Carolina colors, there were plenty of voices rising for the homestanding Eagles, creating a festive atmosphere that served as a reminder of why HBCUs are so special.

This wasn’t just a basketball game, it felt like a family reunion, alive with music, pride, and love. Beyond the waves of blue and gold from Coppin State, the stands pulsed with representation from across the HBCU universe as colors blended like brushstrokes on a canvas while fans proudly wore shirts from Virginia Union, South Carolina State, Morgan State, Florida A&M, Howard, Lincoln (Pa.), North Carolina A&T, and Southern.

When Coppin State hosted North Carolina Central and South Carolina State earlier in January, there were two media members and one cameraman present. That number swelled significantly against South Carolina as 15 cameramen and videographers documented Coppin State’s pregame introductions, startling freshman Jordyn Adderly, who greets her teammates and dances with them. Adderly had to ask the cameramen for extra space.

Staley, herself, intently watched Coppin State’s pre-intro hype video in the darkened arena. She was savoring this opportunity.

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Shared Roots

The Gamecocks stepped onto sacred ground shaped by leadership, courage, and persistence where education meets opportunity and history continues to breathe inside Coppin State’s walls. This was the space between generations.

There was another layer of history beneath their feet linking South Carolina and Coppin State.

Coppin State’s floor bears the name of Ron “Fang” Mitchell, the legendary coach who led the Eagles as a No. 15 seed to a stunning NCAA men’s basketball tournament upset of No. 2 seed South Carolina in 1997. A large mural of that moment hangs inside the PEC. Mitchell, a Philadelphia native who grew up in Camden, mirrored Staley’s beginnings.

Another subtle reminder that the game, like legacy, continuously evolves.

Staley and Mosley’s heartfelt pregame hug meant plenty, resembling a living bridge between past and present. Legacy and purpose meeting exactly where they were meant to meet on a weekend honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

The two head coaches are bonded by their roots and indirect connection to Coppin State and King, who spoke on Coppin State’s campus in 1965, which is one reason why this was more than the completion of a home-and-home contract initiated last season by former Coppin State head coach Jermaine Woods, who is now at Norfolk State. Also, it should be noted that Maryland-Eastern Shore moved a scheduled home game against Coppin State from Saturday to Thursday so that the Eagles could host South Carolina on this day.

Like King, a graduate of Morehouse College, Mosley is also an HBCU alum, having earned his degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Their connection runs deeper still: King spent three formative years, from 1948 to 1951, in Mosley’s hometown of Chester while attending the Crozer Theological Seminary.

“Anytime that you can be a part of history somewhere where you know the likes of Martin Luther King spoke, you feel pretty special,” Staley shared to The IX Basketball. “I know what the ovation that we felt here in the gym, if it was anything like he got when he visited here, I know he felt special coming in and speaking. It feels good to be in the presence of people who really appreciate whatever you’re bringing to the table. Obviously, it’s something positive, like we’re bringing our team here, great talent playing against a talented Coppin State team. Hopefully we made we made everybody proud.”

Coppin State sits at the intersection of those legacies. Named for an educator who believed access was power, visited by a leader who demanded justice with conviction, and now six decades later welcoming a coach whose presence expands possibility, the campus was a living archive of trailblazing leadership in motion.

That leadership also sat courtside across from South Carolina’s bench, as Coppin State president Anthony Jenkins and Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott took in the atmosphere and action, bearing witness to what it looks like when sport, education, and civic pride converge in service of something larger than a single night or score.

Jenkins, along with Coppin State director of athletics Derek Carter, met privately with Staley upon her arrival outside of the South Carolina locker room, which had blue draping hanging above the normally-opened space for MEAC games.

“We had a very good conversation,” Jenkins said. “I’ll keep that between her and I, but as I told her, one of the things that I will share is I wanted to thank her for just being a great example of being a solid leader, not just as a basketball coach. What she’s doing for women’s basketball and for women’s athletics is immeasurable, and I wanted to acknowledge that. This is one of those moments where you’re living in history, and you’re making history, but you don’t fully appreciate it until you come out of it.”

An ‘Overwhelming Experience’

Staley, who led South Carolina into true road games at HBCUs before against Hampton in 2014, Savannah State in 2015 and Alabama State in 2019, was asked during the postgame press conference to describe the atmosphere in one word.

“Overwhelming,” Staley said admiringly to reporters. “Even our players, when they when they came back in from coming out the first time they had people coming up to them, asking for selfies and autographs and all of that which is pretty cool. That pretty much only happens in South Carolina, but it happened here so far away from South Carolina…. It goes to show that our game is growing, and people recognize our players. It only creates an exciting, overwhelming experience for us all, for me too.”

South Carolina’s Maddy McDaniel is from Upper Marlboro, about 45 minutes from Coppin State. She had a large contingent of family and friends at the game. The Gamecocks got 26 points from Joyce Edwards, who was the first South Carolina player on the floor at 10:20 a.m. as Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” blared from the sound system.

Tessa Johnson made five 3-pointers in finishing with 17 points and Ta’Niya Latson added 15 points as South Carolina extended its winning streak to 12. Latson and Ayla McDowell posed for selfies before stepping on the court.

Coppin State provided some thrills behind Khila Morris’ 20 points and Paris McBride’s 12 points. The Eagles fell behind, 7-0, before scoring eight straight points to take their only lead, 8-7, following an Erin Henry layup. Shanaii Gamble grabbed 11 rebounds as the Eagles won the battle of the boards, 38-37.

Mosley’s final pregame message to his team before leaving the locker room was to “compete, play with passion & heart.” The Eagles had micro goals they accomplished during the game, and one of them was to score at least 40 points. Coppin State scored more points against South Carolina than Power Four programs UCF (44), Georgia (43) and Clemson (37).

“We can compete with anybody when we stay together,” Mosley said to The IX Basketball. “I thought we came out pretty solid, and once they delivered the first punch, we kind of collapsed and went away from each other and started barking at each other. So, I had to call a time out and kind of regroup us. Most importantly, I wanted them to have fun tonight and enjoy this experience.”

They weren’t the only ones.

As the Gamecocks prepare to visit Oklahoma and the Eagles welcome Howard Thursday night, fans departed into the snowy afternoon with something they could hold onto forever. Photos in their phones or shared on social media. A special signature. More importantly, being in the same space, breathing the same air, and capturing a lasting glimpse at one of the most influential women of the 21st century.

On a weekend dedicated to a drum major for justice, Staley’s presence elevated an ordinary afternoon into something enduring.