Dawn Staley shrugs off Texas coach Vic Schaefer’s 'emotional' SEC rant
Texas Longhorns women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer called the SEC out for his team's scheduling after their January 11 loss to LSU.
"[The SEC schedule makers] obviously have a vendetta against Texas, because not only have we started in the league, and I get to play South Carolina twice last year, this year, I get LSU twice, but I have to go up 16 games, there's 16 games this year, and I have to play South Carolina on the road this year, as well as LSU, I get them back-to-back in the same week. Now make that make sense," Schaefer said, per an X post from Jacques Doucet.
"The league is hard enough as it is. But then to bless me and my group with that, it really has a stench to it. And the common denominator is LSU and South Carolina both play Georgia before they play me. And South Carolina was at home today. So I'm disappointed... I'm really disappointed in the league for putting our kids in that position. But we play whoever is in front of us," he added.
"There are some things that bother me with the schedule... And that's my frustration, is that... I waited for people who should have stood up and said something. Nothing was said. It's us against the world a lot of times, and we have to embrace that," Schaefer concluded.
"They obviously have a vendetta against Texas."
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) January 12, 2026
"It really has a stench to it."
"I'm really disappointed in the league, for putting our kids in that position."@TexasWBB Vic Shaefer on SEC scheduling and playing back-to-back road games at @LSUwbkb and @GamecockWBB. #LSU pic.twitter.com/TCkXM2xuB8
Dawn Staley addresses Vic Schaefer's SEC schedule comments
The crux of Schaefer's frustration is that his team has to travel to play Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia just a few days after playing LSU in Baton Rouge. But Staley doesn't seem to have much sympathy for Schaefer, which she conveyed when speaking with the media on January 14.
When asked about Schaefer's comments, Staley said, "It's the SEC. It's the SEC. It's unforgiving, no matter how you look at it. If you focus on anything beyond the immediate game, it will catch you," per an X post from Matt Dowell of WACH FOX.
"Yes, we break down the schedule. And I don't think the schedule benefits us, because we've been at the top. And I don't want it to. Don't give us anything. Even the type of success that we've had, don't give us anything. We expect nothing, because the road is hard. And if someone sets it up for you to eat off this golden platter, it's not gonna be the right seasoning," Staley continued.
She then added, "It's a tough business. We get stressed out about who we have to play, where we have to play, and we do... I think Vic probably got a little more stressed out because it was after a game, after a loss. And that's when you're at your most emotional state. And you just let it all out... You get it out and you move on. I'm sure he's not talking about it today."
Dawn Staley was asked about Vic Schaefer's comments after the LSU game regarding SEC scheduling.
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) January 14, 2026
A lot of really great quotes from her about it and impossible to post just one to go with it so here is the full answer ⬇️@GamecockWBB | @wachfox pic.twitter.com/L8L1p7ONxs
Staley doesn't seem too bothered by Schaefer's sentiment.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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