five Best-Compensated Women of all ages's Higher education Basketball Coaches
five Best-Compensated Women of all ages's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s college basketball has witnessed exponential expansion in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last 10 years. With the elevated reputation and industrial achievements in the sport, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these top-tier coaches bring for their groups and universities. As universities go on to speculate within their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include making powerhouse packages.
Right here’s a look at the 5 highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their spectacular salaries and also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Approximated Annual Wage: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds to get the gold regular in Women of all ages’s higher education basketball coaching. A former 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 Ultimate 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she designed headlines by signing a historic 7-yr, $22.four million contract, generating her the best-paid Black head coach in Women of all ages's university basketball record. That deal has considering that been restructured and prolonged with efficiency 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 school basketball historical past—Adult men's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured beneficial deal renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, clothing offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament operates. While UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management keep his benefit high.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Immediately after An effective two-ten years operate at Baylor, where she received a few nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball globe by joining LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a different stage of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Gals’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is M88 central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $1.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of consistency at Maryland considering the fact that taking up in 2002. With multiple convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for more than two decades.
Her prolonged-term impression and development of prime-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer involves bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and university student improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the highest-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire record and has led Stanford to a few nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 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, progress of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her location One of the all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Switching Landscape in Women's Basketball
The growing salaries of these coaches are reflective from the expanding acceptance and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Television bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming more 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 good results these coaches deliver for their systems as well as Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these 5 coaches at present lead how regarding earnings, numerous others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective programs and will break in the leading 5 in the coming yrs as Ladies's basketball proceeds to develop.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded women’s systems and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command significant salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Females’s basketball to new heights. Given that the sport carries on to mature in reputation and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Females’s faculty basketball isn’t just maintaining tempo—it’s placing the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.