5 Best-Paid Women's College Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Paid Women's College Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s faculty basketball has viewed exponential progress in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Along with the enhanced attractiveness and commercial success of the sport, particularly in NCAA Division I applications, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the worth and leadership these top rated-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities continue to speculate inside their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the economic rewards that include constructing powerhouse plans.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive salaries and also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Approximated Annual Wage: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold regular in Gals’s faculty basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has crafted South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Because taking on This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Closing 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she built headlines by signing a historic 7-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, producing her the highest-compensated Black head mentor in Ladies's faculty basketball heritage. That offer has due to the fact been restructured and prolonged with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the top of the listing.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Approximated Annual Income: $2.9 million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping 11 countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled the program into One of the more dominant dynasties in university basketball background—Adult men's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable functionality have ensured worthwhile deal renewals. His current deal features a base salary, media obligations, apparel deals, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match operates. Though UConn has confronted new issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his worth substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition College (LSU)
Estimated Yearly Wage: $two.7 million
Soon after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, where she received a few nationwide titles, Kim M88 Mulkey shocked the basketball globe by joining LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd period Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new stage of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, building her one among the highest-compensated women’s coaches at any time. Noted for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Annual Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a model of regularity at Maryland since taking on in 2002. With many conference championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in countrywide rivalry for more than two decades.
Her prolonged-expression affect and advancement of major-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her latest deal involves bonuses for academic general performance, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and pupil enhancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Approximated Annual Wage: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not only amongst the very best-paid out coaches but additionally the winningest mentor in NCAA Girls's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get file and it has led Stanford to a few national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Ultimate Four appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been a single to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her leadership, improvement of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her spot Amongst the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Transforming Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The increasing salaries of those coaches are reflective of the increasing acceptance and financial viability of women’s college or university basketball. Programs are attracting much more nationwide Tv set deals, ticket product sales are expanding, and corporate sponsors have become additional invested in Females's sporting activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not only a sign of progress—it’s a recognition with the labor, leadership, and results these coaches carry for their packages plus the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these five coaches at present guide the way in which with regards to earnings, many Other folks are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Just about every of those coaches has designed significant strides with their respective programs and will split in the top 5 in the coming decades as women's basketball carries on to increase.
Final Thoughts
The times of underfunded women’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command superior salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. Given that the Activity proceeds to grow in acceptance and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and the profiles of these leaders—to carry on mounting.
Women of all ages’s school basketball isn’t just retaining pace—it’s setting the rate for the future of competitive sports.