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No. 2 South Carolina played at Coppin State on Sunday, an unusual sight since high-majors don't typically play HBCUs on the road. It all started with a tweet from Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley while trying to finish her 2024-25 schedule.

"Really sorry I have to resort to this but-we need a game," Staley wrote in August 2024. "I've had some nice, funny and outlandish convos regarding scheduling a game H/H with a guarantee and guaranteed a great student-athlete experience -any interest please let me know. Need to finish this schedule."

A few days later, Staley gave an update saying the Gamecocks' schedule had been completed and gave a shoutout to HBCUs. Although she didn't reveal it was Coppin State at the time, South Carolina hosted the Eagles on Nov. 14, 2024.

This Sunday, it was time for the Gamecocks to travel to Baltimore. South Carolina picked up a 90-48 victory, but the lopsided result doesn't take away from how beneficial scheduling a game like this can be for HBCUs. Staley made the deal with coach Jermaine Woods, but it was honored by first-year head coach Darrel Mosley.

"It's a big revenue (draw) for HBCUs" Mosley said to Greenville News ahead of the matchup. "We're not well-funded so drawing ticket sales at the door. A regular game we have 200 people in the building, just (Staley) coming to play it's going to probably be roughly 4,000 people. The university is able to capitalize on that revenue."

Other than helping a roster build confidence early in the season, there are not too many benefits for top-ranked opponents to travel for a game against mid or low-major teams. There are costs involved in traveling and losing that game could be a huge hit on their resume.

Regardless, Staley talked about the importance of shining some light on HBCUs. During Sunday's postgame press conference, she said the crowd of 3,371 was the second highest attendance in Coppin State history, only trailing the game against LSU on Dec. 2023 when Maryland native Angel Reese was on the Tigers' roster.

Despite this being a road game for the Gamecocks, there was a lot of appreciation for South Carolina, with fans even lining up to take pictures with Staley.

"Scheduling is hard...Instead of the big competitive games, we've added some HBCUs just to lift up every aspect of our sport," Staley said in September. "Not every team will play an HBCU on their home court. And we feel like, you know, it's a great game, great competition, great coaching. If we can lift because we play the game and get some notoriety to some HBCUs, then we'll do that."