Staley Turns Feast Week Into a Platform: UConn, HBCU Showcase and NIL Opportunities
Dawn Staley loves helping HBCU Participate by playing them.
Feast Week is one of the highlights of the college basketball season, when teams across the country play in multi-team tournaments, often at neutral sites, during Thanksgiving week. South Carolina women’s basketball has a marquee game on the calendar: a Nov. 24 matchup with UConn in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The source frames the schedule as another example of Dawn Staley finding ways to uplift HBCU women’s basketball programs.
The PowHer Player Classic
South Carolina will host Alabama A&M, North Carolina Central and Tennessee State in Columbia on Nov. 28 and 29. The Gamecocks play Tennessee State on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2:30 p.m., then face either N.C. Central or Alabama A&M on Sunday, Nov. 29.
Date note: The source calls Nov. 28 both a Saturday and a Friday, which can’t both be right. Confirm the dates before planning.
The event is organized by Rae Rose Media, a sports media company focused on name, image and likeness (NIL) maximization. The group organized South Carolina’s NCAA Selection Show watch party and has produced social media content with Staley’s team in recent months.
Staley’s Message
Speaking at SEC Tipoff in Birmingham on Oct. 13, Staley said the event is about more than basketball:
“It will be a great opportunity for them to see Columbia, for Rae Rose Media to put on an event that is much more than a game.”
She continued:
“Obviously the games are important, but the messaging behind what it represents is a larger message that we want to get across.”
On the purpose, she said:
“I think we want to highlight HBCUs… It’s one to give HBCU student-athletes an opportunity to capitalize in name, image, and likeness. They don’t — not at the level that our players really benefit from, so we want to make sure they feel that.”
What’s Planned Around the Games
Rae Rose Media has scheduled events designed to create NIL opportunities for the HBCU players:
- A holiday-based community service event on Thanksgiving
- An “NIL Marketplace”
- A “Culture Night Kickoff Dinner” for all four teams
Analysis: The programming treats the visiting teams as partners rather than opponents. Offering NIL access fits Staley’s comment about the gap between her players’ opportunities and those at HBCU programs.
Staley’s HBCU Track Record
The source shows this isn’t new for her. Since taking over in 2008, there have been only three seasons in which the Gamecocks haven’t played an HBCU, an average of 1.7 games per year, with a high of four in 2014-15.
- South Carolina played at least one HBCU opponent for 10 straight seasons from 2010-11 to 2019-20.
- After a break in 2020-21, this year extends the current streak to six seasons.
- The Gamecocks will play at least two HBCU games this season, and potentially a third if they draw one in the NCAA Tournament, as they did last year against Southern.
It starts with the Oct. 23 exhibition against Benedict College, one of two Division II HBCUs in Columbia.
Why It Matters
For South Carolina, the schedule pairs a high-profile game against UConn with a weekend built around community and NIL. The UConn game gives the Gamecocks a national spotlight, while the PowHer Player Classic gives HBCU athletes a platform they rarely get. It also shows how a top program can use its scheduling power for a purpose beyond wins.
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