5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Females's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Ladies’s college or university basketball has viewed exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Using the elevated acceptance and business results of your Activity, especially in NCAA Division I plans, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the worth and leadership these best-tier coaches convey for their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position inside their Gals’s athletics departments, a couple of standout coaches are reaping the monetary benefits that include constructing powerhouse courses.
In this article’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 payment.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Estimated Yearly Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley carries on for being the gold standard in Gals’s university basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has created South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Due to the fact taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to multiple NCAA Closing 4 appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she built headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.four million contract, building her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Ladies's college or university basketball background. That offer has since been restructured and extended with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Annual Salary: $2.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has reworked This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball record—Males's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable performance have ensured rewarding agreement renewals. His recent deal features a foundation wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. When UConn has confronted the latest challenges with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management continue to keep his benefit high.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $two.seven million
Just after A prosperous two-10 years run at Baylor, in which she won three countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball globe by joining LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd period With all the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a fresh degree of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came with a lucrative eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, producing her certainly one of the highest-paid out Females’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women'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 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 created her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her existing offer consists of bonuses for educational overall performance, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and university student advancement.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn history and has led Stanford to a few countrywide titles (1990, M88 1992, and 2021) and various Last Four appearances.
Even though VanDerveer has not 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 position Amongst the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Altering Landscape in Females's Basketball
The rising salaries of those coaches are reflective with the developing acceptance and fiscal viability of girls’s college or university basketball. Programs are attracting more national Television set promotions, ticket sales are increasing, and company sponsors have gotten additional invested in Girls'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 courses plus the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these five coaches now lead the way in terms of earnings, quite a few Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of such coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective courses and could crack to the top 5 in the coming yrs as Females's basketball proceeds to expand.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Females’s courses 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 Females’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.
Gals’s school basketball isn’t just preserving rate—it’s setting the rate for the future of competitive athletics.