5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Girls’s college basketball has observed exponential progress in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness over the past decade. While using the increased popularity and commercial achievement from the sport, specifically in NCAA Division I programs, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches bring for their groups and universities. As universities keep on to invest in their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, a handful of standout coaches are reaping the economical benefits that come with building powerhouse courses.
Below’s a consider the 5 optimum-paid out women’s college basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not simply their amazing salaries but additionally the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Approximated Once-a-year Wage: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds to be the gold common in Girls’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Given that taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to many NCAA Final 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she made headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million contract, making her the highest-paid Black head mentor in Ladies's faculty basketball background. That deal has considering the fact that been restructured and extended with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the highest of the record.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly Income: $two.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has reworked This system into Just about the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball record—Males's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable performance have ensured profitable agreement renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Though UConn has faced latest issues with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State University (LSU)
Believed Once-a-year Wage: $2.7 million
Following An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few national titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by becoming a member of 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 significant-profile arrival arrived by using a rewarding 8-12 months, $23.6 million deal, building her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted M88 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: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a model of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking up in 2002. With multiple 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 impact and development of top rated-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer contains bonuses for tutorial overall performance, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and scholar improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the highest-paid coaches but additionally the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn record and has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Ultimate 4 appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth 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 raising salaries of those coaches are reflective with the escalating popularity and financial viability of girls’s college basketball. Programs are attracting more countrywide Television set promotions, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have become a lot more invested in Ladies's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of the effort, Management, and accomplishment these coaches deliver to their systems plus the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches currently guide the best way 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 important strides with their respective applications and will split into your major five in the approaching several years as Ladies's basketball proceeds to expand.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate women’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity proceeds to expand in attractiveness and help, we can easily anticipate these salaries—plus the profiles of such leaders—to continue growing.
Women of all ages’s school basketball isn’t just trying to keep rate—it’s setting the pace for the future of competitive athletics.