five Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
five Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Girls’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Along with the increased recognition and commercial achievement from the sport, especially in NCAA Division I programs, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and Management these prime-tier coaches carry to their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position within 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 highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their impressive salaries and also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley carries on to be the gold typical in Females’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Because taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to many NCAA Last 4 appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.four million deal, generating her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college or university 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 – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping 11 national titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled This system into one of the most dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular general performance have ensured profitable agreement renewals. His latest deal features a foundation wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. When UConn has confronted new worries with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his value higher.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
After A prosperous two-ten years run at Baylor, the place she gained three countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball entire world by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her next time While using the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a fresh degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came with a lucrative eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, producing M88 her certainly one of the best-paid out Females’s coaches at any time. Recognized for her passionate coaching design, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Women of all ages's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $1.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of consistency at Maryland considering the fact that taking up in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in national competition for more than two decades.
Her lengthy-term effects and progress of prime-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal incorporates bonuses for academic performance, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and university student advancement.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.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 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Final Four appearances.
Even though VanDerveer hasn't been a person to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, advancement of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her put Amongst the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing recognition and economic viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Tv set discounts, ticket profits are raising, and company sponsors have become a lot more invested in Females's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of progress—it’s a recognition from the hard work, Management, and accomplishment these coaches carry to their applications and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at this time direct the way in which in terms of earnings, quite a few Some others are increasing:
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 continues to improve.
Last Views
The days of underfunded Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command substantial salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport proceeds to expand in popularity and assist, we can assume these salaries—and the profiles of these leaders—to carry on soaring.
Ladies’s faculty basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the rate for the way forward for competitive sports activities.