For one week, Dawn Staley is matching each donation Temple women’s basketball receives

Temple women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson has led her program to back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time since Tonya Cardoza did so from 2014 to 2017. However, Richardson knows that to maintain success in today’s era of college basketball, money is a major factor.

So Richardson decided to start a fundraising campaign to get donors excited to help the program and reached out to Philadelphia legend and former Temple head coach Dawn Staley.

Richardson and Staley created a fundraising campaign called “Match the Momentum,” where Staley would match each donation the Temple women’s basketball team receives from Oct. 20 to 25. Both coaches want Temple to be competitive, even with Staley as the coach at South Carolina.

“Just talking with her about the way the landscape is and that in order for us to be competitive, we need dollars,” Richardson said, “it was my pitch to her that we want to maintain or even get higher than where we are right now, and it’s going to take money.”

Staley’s area ties run deep. She was born and raised in the city, attended Dobbins Technical High School, and played for the short-lived Philadelphia Rage of the now-defunct American Basketball League. While still playing in the WNBA for the Charlotte Sting, she returned to Philly in April 2000 to become the head coach for Temple, where, in her eight years with the program, she guided the Owls to 172 wins and six NCAA Tournament appearances before leaving for South Carolina in May 2008.

Richardson and Staley’s friendship dates back to when Richardson was the coach at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Md., and Staley recruited her players.

Once Richardson had Staley on board for the campaign, the fourth-year head coach took the idea to Temple’s marketing department. Staley helped the campaign gain traction by recording a video in which she shared what North Philly and Temple mean to her.

» READ MORE: How Michelle Vittese turned Temple field hockey into a Big East tournament contender

“Her roots are here,” Richardson said. “She understands that if we can put out a product that people can look at and aspire to, all the young girls in the Philly area can say, ‘You know what? I can see myself doing that.’ Her commitment to us at Temple, obviously, she did a lot for Temple when she was here. … She wants young girls to be able to look up to us, just like she did when she was growing up.”

Temple continued to promote the campaign throughout the week, with videos from guard Tristen Taylor, forward Jaleesa Molina, and Richardson. Taylor and Molina spoke about what it means to be an Owl, their experiences with the program, and how the donations could help the team with traveling, recruiting, and nutrition.

The Owls will open their season on Nov. 3 against George Mason and were picked to finish fourth in the American in the preseason poll.

“Our players have been doing a great job,” Richardson said. We’ve had back-to-back 20-win seasons without the notoriety. So now that hopefully we have some fans and we have some donors and we have some more money, we can continue that climb.”

Richardson also hopes the campaign will bring more attention to her program. Staley is one of the most popular figures in women’s college basketball, and both coaches want to see Temple back at the top.

“I think it puts an eye on us,” Richardson said. “Obviously, football and men’s basketball is really important, but women’s basketball has really exploded. Now, with Dawn behind it, she’s got name recognition, and people would look at that and say, ‘Well, Dawn’s doing it, then let me take a look at Temple women’s basketball.’ I’m sure we will get some eyes that have never seen Temple women’s basketball because she put her name out there, her commitment, and her belief in us. Now, other people will follow.”