5 Highest-Paid Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s faculty basketball has noticed exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. While using the increased recognition and commercial good results in the sport, especially in NCAA Division I applications, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the worth and Management these prime-tier coaches carry to their groups and universities. As universities go on to speculate inside their Females’s athletics departments, several standout coaches are reaping the monetary benefits that include creating powerhouse applications.
Here’s a think about the five greatest-compensated Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their extraordinary salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds for being the gold typical in women’s college basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has developed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Considering that taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to numerous NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, creating her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's school basketball heritage. That offer has considering that been restructured and prolonged with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of the listing.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.9 million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven countrywide 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 males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base wage, media obligations, attire discounts, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match operates. When UConn has confronted new worries with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management continue to keep his benefit superior.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $2.seven million
Just after A prosperous two-ten years operate at Baylor, the place she gained three national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her second season Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new stage of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived by using a worthwhile 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her amongst the very 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 Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly crafted a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With multiple convention championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide contention for over M88 20 years.
Her extended-term effects and growth of leading-tier expertise have created her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her existing offer contains bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball heritage. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain document and has led Stanford to a few nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Remaining Four appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has not been just one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, improvement of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her area Among the many all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective in the increasing level of popularity and financial viability of girls’s college basketball. Applications are attracting much more national TV deals, ticket revenue are growing, and corporate sponsors are getting to be extra invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, leadership, and success these coaches convey for their packages as well as the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches currently guide the best way with regards to earnings, a number of 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 best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not simply command higher salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the tradition in their universities, and elevate Ladies’s basketball to new heights. As being the sport carries on to improve in reputation and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—as well as the profiles of those leaders—to carry on increasing.
Girls’s college basketball isn’t just retaining speed—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive athletics.