5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past ten years. Along with the amplified popularity and commercial success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these leading-tier coaches bring for their teams and universities. As universities proceed to invest in their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, a handful of standout coaches are reaping the money rewards that come with setting up powerhouse systems.
Listed here’s a look at the 5 maximum-paid Women of all ages’s faculty basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their remarkable salaries but also the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Yearly Wage: $three.one million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has developed South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Because taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to various NCAA Closing Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she designed headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.four million contract, earning her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Ladies's college or university basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and prolonged with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $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 began in 1985, has transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball background—Adult men's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and consistent functionality have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. While UConn has faced current difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth large.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Income: $two.seven million
Soon after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by joining LSU in 2021. M88 In only her 2nd period With all the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a new amount of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived using a rewarding eight-12 months, $23.6 million deal, building her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a model of regularity at Maryland considering that taking over in 2002. With many conference championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has retained the Terrapins in national competition for more than two decades.
Her extensive-phrase effects and growth of top-tier expertise have made her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her twin determination to athletics and college student development.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the very best-paid out coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Modifying Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The growing salaries of these coaches are reflective in the increasing attractiveness and financial viability of girls’s school basketball. Applications are attracting a lot more national TV 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 with the exertions, leadership, and success these coaches bring for their packages along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches currently guide the best way when it comes to earnings, several Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each and every of these coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective programs and will break in the leading 5 in the coming yrs as Gals's basketball proceeds to develop.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command superior salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity proceeds to expand in popularity and help, we can easily count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue climbing.
Women’s university basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s placing the pace for the way forward for competitive sports activities.