five Best-Compensated Females's College Basketball Coaches
five Best-Compensated Females's College Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s school basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. With all the greater attractiveness and professional success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these best-tier coaches deliver to their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position within their Ladies’s athletics departments, a couple of standout coaches are reaping the financial benefits that come with creating powerhouse applications.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley carries on to generally be the gold conventional in Girls’s university basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has created South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Due to the fact taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to multiple NCAA Closing Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she built headlines by signing a historic 7-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, earning her the best-paid Black head mentor in Girls's school basketball heritage. That offer has given that been restructured and prolonged with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this listing.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in higher education basketball record—Males's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable overall performance have ensured worthwhile deal renewals. His present-day deal features a base income, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Although UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management continue to keep his benefit superior.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
After a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained 3 national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her second season with the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new stage of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her high-profile arrival arrived by using a worthwhile 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, making her one of the best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Salary: $one.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over twenty years.
Her extended-time period affect and development of top rated-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer involves bonuses for tutorial functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not only considered one of the best-paid coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get report and it has led Stanford to 3 national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four M88 appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising salaries of such coaches are reflective with the escalating recognition and economic viability of women’s university basketball. Plans are attracting a lot more nationwide Television offers, ticket revenue are growing, and corporate sponsors are getting to be extra invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, Management, and achievement these coaches bring to their programs and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at the moment lead the way concerning earnings, various Other folks are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Just about every of those coaches has produced sizeable strides with their respective packages and could split to the top 5 in the coming yrs as Gals's basketball continues to mature.
Ultimate Views
The days of underfunded Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command substantial salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the lifestyle in their universities, and elevate Females’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in level of popularity and support, we will expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to carry on growing.
Gals’s school basketball isn’t just preserving rate—it’s setting the tempo for the future of aggressive athletics.