5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Ladies’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Along with the amplified popularity and commercial achievement from the sport, especially in NCAA Division I programs, 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 developing powerhouse applications.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their remarkable salaries and also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
1. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Final 4 appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she made headlines by signing a historic 7-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, making her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Girls's college 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 remodeled the program into One of the more dominant dynasties in school basketball historical past—Adult men's or women’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady general performance have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base wage, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Although UConn has faced latest issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
After A prosperous two-ten years run at Baylor, in which she won three countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball entire world by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her next year Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a new amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her high-profile arrival arrived which has a rewarding 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches ever. Known for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant trend, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With several meeting championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in national competition for more than 20 years.
Her extensive-phrase effects and growth of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her latest deal involves bonuses for tutorial functionality, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and university student advancement.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Estimated Yearly Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not just one among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get document and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last 4 appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been a single to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her spot among the all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Switching Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of these coaches are reflective from the expanding acceptance and money viability of ladies’s school basketball. Plans are attracting more countrywide TV offers, ticket revenue are escalating, and corporate sponsors have become additional invested in Ladies's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of development—it’s a recognition in the effort, leadership, and achievement these coaches provide for their programs along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
While these five coaches now guide the way with regard to earnings, numerous Some others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of such coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective courses and could crack to the top 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command superior salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in acceptance and support, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on soaring.
Females’s faculty basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the speed for the M88 way forward for aggressive sports.