five Highest-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
five Highest-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Ladies’s college or university basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last 10 years. With the elevated reputation and industrial accomplishment on the sport, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and Management 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 benefits that include building powerhouse courses.
Right here’s a consider the 5 highest-compensated Girls’s higher education 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 Yearly Salary: $3.one million
Dawn Staley carries on to become the gold conventional in Females’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Given that taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to many NCAA Last 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million deal, producing her the best-paid Black head coach in Gals's university basketball heritage. That offer has given 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 remodeled This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball history—Adult men's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable efficiency have ensured beneficial deal renewals. His present-day deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing promotions, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. Though UConn has confronted latest troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership hold his worth substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State University (LSU)
Believed Once-a-year Income: $2.7 million
Following a successful two-decade operate at Baylor, where by she received 3 national titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her second season with the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a whole new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-year, $23.six million agreement, creating her one of the best-paid women’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Females's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in countrywide rivalry for over 20 years.
Her lengthy-expression effect and progress of top rated-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her latest deal includes bonuses for educational effectiveness, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her twin dedication to athletics and pupil advancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Yearly Salary: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not only certainly one of the best-compensated coaches and also the winningest coach in NCAA women's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time win report and has led Stanford to 3 nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Remaining Four appearances.
While VanDerveer has not been a single to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her Management, improvement of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Changing Landscape in Females's Basketball
The expanding salaries of these coaches are reflective in the developing reputation and money viability of girls’s faculty basketball. Applications are attracting extra countrywide Television set deals, ticket income are expanding, and company sponsors have become a lot more invested in Girls's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not merely a sign of development—it’s a recognition of your exertions, leadership, and achievement these coaches bring for their plans and also the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches now lead how regarding earnings, quite a few others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of those coaches has built important strides with their respective programs and could split into your best 5 in the approaching many years as Girls's basketball proceeds to grow.
Last Ideas
The days of underfunded Girls’s systems and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not only command higher salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, shape the culture in their universities, and M88 elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Given that the Activity continues to develop in acceptance and assist, we will assume these salaries—plus the profiles of those leaders—to carry on mounting.
Girls’s higher education basketball isn’t just retaining pace—it’s placing the pace for the way forward for aggressive athletics.