5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s college or university basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. With the amplified popularity and commercial good results of the Activity, especially in NCAA Division I systems, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the worth and leadership these major-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities go on to speculate of their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the economic rewards that come with building powerhouse courses.
Below’s a consider the five optimum-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
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. Because taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Final 4 appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she created headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million deal, producing her the best-paid Black head coach in women's higher education basketball record. That deal has due to the fact been restructured and prolonged with performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the top of this record.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping eleven nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has remodeled the program into Probably the most dominant dynasties in college basketball record—Gentlemen's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady efficiency have ensured profitable agreement renewals. His latest deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing deals, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. While UConn has confronted recent challenges with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management hold his price high.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $two.7 million
Soon after An effective two-decade run 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 While using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 national championship, bringing a brand new level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, generating her among the highest-compensated Females’s coaches ever. Recognized for her passionate coaching design, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Once-a-year Wage: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over 20 years.
Her lengthy-expression influence and enhancement of best-tier expertise have produced her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her present deal features bonuses for educational general performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and college student development.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the highest-paid out coaches but will also the winningest coach in NCAA Females's basketball heritage. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time win document and has led Stanford to a few nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Remaining Four appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has never been one particular to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, enhancement of WNBA stars, and commitment to excellence have solidified her location One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Transforming Landscape in Women of all ages's Basketball
The increasing salaries of those coaches are reflective on the increasing attractiveness and economical viability of girls’s college basketball. Programs are attracting more countrywide Television set promotions, ticket gross sales are increasing, and company sponsors are getting to be additional invested in Gals's athletics.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of progress—it’s a recognition in the hard work, Management, and results these coaches provide to their applications and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches at the moment lead just how with regard to earnings, many Other individuals are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Just about every of those coaches has made sizeable strides with their respective packages and could split into the major five in the approaching a long time as women's basketball carries on to grow.
Closing Thoughts
The days of underfunded Ladies’s systems and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command superior salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the culture of their universities, and elevate Gals’s basketball to new heights. Because the Activity proceeds to develop in attractiveness and help, we can easily anticipate these salaries—plus the profiles of these leaders—to continue climbing.
Women of all ages’s university basketball isn’t just holding M88 pace—it’s environment the tempo for the way forward for aggressive sporting activities.