Is Dawn Staley Married? Details on South Carolina Coach’s Love Life and Special Bond With Lisa Boyer

Basketball coaches have a lifestyle as intense as the game. As Tom Thibodeau, Knicks coach, once told, “There’s no room in my life for a woman if I’m going to be a basketball coach.”  While Thibodeau is married to the game, other coaches like to engage in personal relationships and have a stable family life while not coaching on the court. But what about Dawn Staley?

The South Carolina Gamecocks’ head coach is one of the most popular women’s basketball coaches in the world. Despite Dawn having such a successful coaching career, the world doesn’t actually know much about her personal life. While there have been rumors of Dawn having a partner, Staley clearly isn’t letting that get in the way of her career. So, who is Dawn Staley’s partner? And what is happening in the dating life of one of the greatest coaches of all time?

Who was Dawn Staley married to?

Devoting her whole life to college basketball, Dawn Staley has rarely ever addressed her love life. Notably, Staley has never been married to anyone and has kept her personal life very private. However, it was speculated that she was romantically involved with the assistant coach, Lisa Boyer, over the last few years. The Gamecocks’ assistant coach has been the right-hand “rider” for Dawn Staley for over a decade now.

Rumors sparked in 2018, when Staley took to Twitter and wrote, “Boyer!! We are that old married couple who started young and will grow old together. You put the ride and die in the RIDE and DIE! Proud of you Boyer. Thanks for sacrificing your career to help to me serve our teams, program, university and state. What a ride?! ¤ï¸¤ï¸”

To which Lisa responded, “What Dawnnie?!?! 10 years!!! Went by in a blink. Laughs, tears, joys, disappointments, heartaches, and victories, BUT always shoulder to shoulder. Been a ton of fun so let’s get this next 10 started!!!#ualreadyknow #loyalisnameofgame.” The exact nature of their relationship remains unconfirmed. This tweet attracted a lot of attention from fans and was interpreted as Dawn being romantically involved with Lisa Boyer. However, neither Dawn nor Lisa ever confirmed it.

Why did Dawn Staley and Lisa Boyer broke up?

The question of why Dawn Staley and Lisa Boyer broke up is based on a misconception. There is no public information to indicate that Dawn Staley and Lisa Boyer were ever in a confirmed romantic relationship, such that it could have ended. Dawn Staley and Lisa Boyer have a long-standing professional relationship.

Boyer first joined Staley’s staff in 2002 at Temple University. When Staley moved to South Carolina, Boyer followed with the title of assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach in 2010. Their relationship has been described as one of teamwork and mentorship. They’ve had incredible success together as colleagues in their basketball careers.

What is Lisa Boyer doing now?

Lisa Boyer is the associate head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team, a post she has held since 2010, working under head coach Dawn Staley to create one of the premier women’s college basketball programs. In the words of Staley at the occasion of her promotion to Associate head coach, “The title is long overdue as I’ve always considered Lisa a co-head coach. Her knowledge, experience and expertise are second to none in the game”. And it’s nothing but true.

In the 2023–24 campaign, Boyer changed her coaching responsibilities from guards to post players after 15 seasons of working with the Gamecocks’ backcourt. The transition was a successful one as Kamilla Cardoso earned All-America honors and Ashlyn Watkins nabbed an All-SEC nod with Boyer’s guidence.

As of March 2025, Lisa Boyer remains an integral part of the South Carolina women’s basketball program as its associate head coach. Her decades of experience, coupled with her successful partnership with Dawn Staley, has built one of the most powerful programs in college basketball history.