5 Highest-Paid Ladies's College Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Ladies's College Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Along with the amplified popularity and commercial success from the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these best-tier coaches convey for their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position within their Ladies’s athletics departments, a couple of standout coaches are reaping the financial benefits that include setting up powerhouse systems.
Below’s a consider the five best-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
Approximated Annual Wage: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues being the gold normal in women’s college or university basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has crafted South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Considering the fact that taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million deal, creating her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's school basketball heritage. That offer has given that been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, putting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Annual Salary: $2.9 million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has remodeled This system into Just about the most dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership keep his value higher.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
After A prosperous two-ten years operate at Baylor, the place she gained three national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball earth by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her second time with the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a whole new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, producing her certainly one of the best-paid out Ladies’s coaches at any time. 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 – College of Maryland
Estimated Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland given that taking on in 2002. With a number of conference championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has retained the Terrapins in national competition for over 20 years.
Her long-expression influence and enhancement of best-tier expertise have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her twin determination to athletics and pupil progress.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just certainly one of the very best-compensated coaches but also the winningest coach in NCAA Girls's basketball record. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get report and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
Even though 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 determination to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The expanding salaries of such coaches are reflective of the expanding reputation and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional nationwide Tv set discounts, ticket income are raising, and corporate sponsors have become much 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, leadership, and good results these coaches deliver for their systems plus the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these five coaches presently guide how regarding earnings, numerous Other people are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of those coaches has produced major strides with their respective packages and could split in to the major five in the approaching several years as Ladies's basketball carries on to develop.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Females’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches M88 not simply command higher salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the tradition in their universities, and elevate Ladies’s basketball to new heights. As being the sport carries on to improve in reputation and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Gals’s school basketball isn’t just trying to keep rate—it’s setting the tempo for the way forward for aggressive sporting activities.