After John Thompson became the first black men’s coach to win an N.C.A.A. basketball title at Georgetown in 1984, “more athletic directors were open to putting an African-American in charge,” said Richard Lapchick, the director of the diversity institute.

“Hopefully, that will be the case here” after Staley’s triumph, Lapchick added.

Staley said: “I don’t know what athletic directors will think about. I’m not one that looks at race. Basketball has been faceless and colorless and genderless when I approached it. I think athletic directors need to hire what’s best for them.”

She added: “If it’s an African-American male or female, then that’s who they should hire. If it’s somebody else who they feel can take their program to the next level, it has to be the best fit for them, and not necessarily color-based.”

The daughter of parents who moved from South Carolina, Staley grew up in public housing in Philadelphia. She played baseball, football and basketball with her three brothers and other boys and sometimes shot baskets until 2 a.m. She developed a robustness that allowed her to win three Olympic gold medals as a player and be named one of the top 15 players in the formative years of the W.N.B.A.

“She’s basically a gym rat, and definitely ball is life for her,” said Gray, the guard.

With Sunday’s title, Staley joined Pat Summitt of Tennessee, Kim Mulkey of Baylor and Marianne Stanley of Old Dominion as former star women’s college players who went into coaching and won N.C.A.A. championships.

“I have always respected Dawn’s competitiveness, her work ethic, her absolute passion for the game of basketball,” said VanDerveer, who coached Staley to a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. “But if she tells you she beat me in chess, she’s a liar.”

While still playing in the W.N.B.A., Staley was somehow persuaded in 2000 by Dave O’Brien, then Temple University’s athletic director, to coach the university’s women’s basketball team. Perhaps more out of hometown devotion than enthusiasm, Staley agreed, though she has said, “Not one ounce of me wanted to coach.”