5 Best-Compensated Gals's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Gals's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s faculty basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Together with the amplified popularity and commercial success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I systems, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and leadership these top-tier coaches convey for their teams and universities. As universities proceed to invest of their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include making powerhouse packages.
Here’s a consider the five highest-paid out Females’s school 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
Believed Annual Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college or university 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 several NCAA Final Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she created headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million deal, creating her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Girls's college basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and extended with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the best of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Believed Yearly 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 transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball background—Gentlemen's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured valuable deal renewals. His current contract includes a foundation income, media obligations, clothing deals, 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 value high.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Immediately after A prosperous two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by joining LSU in 2021. In just her next year Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a brand new amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her higher-profile arrival arrived that has a worthwhile 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches ever. Recognized for her passionate coaching fashion, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of regularity at Maryland considering that taking up in 2002. With multiple meeting championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over 20 years.
Her extensive-phrase impression and advancement of major-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her present deal features bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and university student improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Yearly Income: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only among the very best-paid out coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire report and it has led Stanford to a few nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Remaining 4 appearances.
Though VanDerveer hasn't been one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, improvement of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her spot One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Shifting Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising salaries of those coaches are reflective on the increasing level of popularity and money viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting far more national TV deals, ticket gross sales are M88 raising, and corporate sponsors have become more invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of progress—it’s a recognition of the effort, leadership, and achievement these coaches bring for their plans and also the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches presently guide the best way when it comes to earnings, several Some others are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each of such coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective programs and will crack in to the top five in the approaching several years as Women of all ages's basketball carries on to mature.
Ultimate Views
The days of underfunded Girls’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to mature in reputation and guidance, we can count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue climbing.
Gals’s college basketball isn’t just retaining speed—it’s location the rate for the future of competitive sports.