five Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
five Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s school basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Together with the amplified attractiveness and professional success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these leading-tier coaches bring for their groups and universities. As universities keep on to take a position in their women’s athletics departments, a few standout coaches are reaping the economical benefits that come with building powerhouse courses.
In this article’s a consider the five best-paid out Ladies’s college basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing don't just their outstanding salaries but in addition the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Approximated Annual Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues being the gold common in Ladies’s college or university basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has crafted South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Final Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-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 some 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 men's or women’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced current problems with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his value higher.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
Following a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained 3 national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her second season with 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 8-calendar year, $23.six million contract, making her amongst the very best-paid women’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching design and 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 Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland given that taking up in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than two decades.
Her extensive-expression influence and enhancement of prime-tier expertise have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer involves bonuses for tutorial functionality, wins, and postseason good results—illustrating her twin dedication to athletics and university student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only one among the best-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn history and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Remaining Four appearances.
Although VanDerveer has not been a person to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and M88 contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, improvement of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her position Amongst the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Altering Landscape in Females's Basketball
The rising salaries of those coaches are reflective of your growing reputation and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional countrywide Television set promotions, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten far more invested in Girls's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, leadership, and achievements these coaches convey for their plans as well as the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Although these five coaches now direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, several Many 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 applications and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball continues to improve.
Last Views
The days of underfunded Gals’s applications and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command large salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the lifestyle of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in level of popularity and assistance, we could expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue growing.
Women of all ages’s university basketball isn’t just preserving pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.