South Carolina Athletics celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Wednesday with a particular dinner at Colonial Life Arena, attended by student-athletes, coaches, employees, and Gamecock alumnae for a night of celebration and recognition. Founded in 1987, National Girls and Women in Sports Day marks 40 years of progress and highlights the significance of sports activities in constructing confidence and management for women and ladies.
“If you look at when this all started up until now, there has been a big jump in, not only opportunities, but the advancement of women in sports,” stated Executive Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator Maria Hickman, who can be a former student-athlete after taking part in basketball at Mars Hill College. “For ladies and women who’ve performed sports activities, I feel it has enhanced their life in so some ways. I take into consideration what it has carried out for me with the community it has created, with the ability to journey and see the world, and with the ability to use that very same alternative that was afforded to me for those who are youthful than me to not solely play in sports activities, however to work in sports activities.
“If you think about how big it is now compared to where we started, if we can continue that growth, it’s amazing to think where we can be in ten, twenty, and thirty years.”
“I’m inspired by women who have tirelessly fought for our game to grow, fought for girls’ sports to grow, and women’s sports to grow,” South Carolina ladies’s basketball coach Dawn Staley stated at her media availability on Wednesday. “Tara VanDerveer, Debbie Ryan, Anne Donovan, Vivian Stringer – all of those coaches that loved up on our game when it wasn’t popular or as popular as it is today. So, it’s always a special time to not only showcase what these talented young ladies are doing, but we also have to reach back in our history because without them, there wouldn’t be any of us.”
A panel consisting of present feminine athletics employees, coaches, and former student-athletes have been readily available to talk to the Gamecocks and additionally reply questions.
“This is something that is truly important to me,” stated former South Carolina monitor All-American and two-time Olympic gold medalist Natasha Hastings (2005-2007), who’s now a psychological well being clinician for the Athletics Department and was one of the panelists on the occasion. “My message to today’s female athletes is to take advantage of all the resources that are available to you now. When I look back, I had a number of things available to me when I was here, but now, it’s so much more than what we had. You don’t realize all that you have until you’re gone. All of the networking and connections that you make while you’re in school, your education, and all of those other resources you have, you need to take advantage of them.”
Hearing how far ladies in sports activities has come brings perspective for at present’s student-athletes.
“It’s a very big honor to compete at this level,” stated sophomore equestrian Chloe Canter. “I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have. It really means a lot.”
Nationally, the 2026 theme for National Girls and Women in Sports Day is “Lead Her Forward,” which focuses on the expansion and empowerment of women and ladies in sports activities, which incorporates advocating for gender equality, defending Title IX, and recognizing the constructive affect of sports activities participation on ladies’s lives, whereas additionally encouraging members to proceed to interrupt down obstacles for women in sports activities.
“I think there are always areas we can do better,” Hickman stated. “I’ll never say that we are satisfied where we are as far and women and girls in sport. It’s still a male dominated environment, so you have to have a thick skin if you are a woman and figure out which battles you are going to fight if you’re a woman in the room. I think we’ve made so many strides in the playing aspect of it. We’ve made a lot of progress, but yes, we need more on the professional side of it. We need more (female) Athletics Directors, Commissioners, and more opportunities for women to be seen and heard.”
Check out what some of our former Gamecocks are doing now!