5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s school basketball has witnessed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last 10 years. Using the improved acceptance and business results with the Activity, especially in NCAA Division I applications, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and Management these prime-tier coaches carry to their groups and universities. As universities go on to speculate inside their Females’s athletics departments, several standout coaches are reaping the monetary benefits that include creating powerhouse plans.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive salaries and also 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 up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Final Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she created headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million deal, creating her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Girls's college basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and extended with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $two.9 million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies into a jaw-dropping eleven nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has reworked This system into Just about the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball history—Guys's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable overall performance have ensured worthwhile 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 accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his price significant.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Income: $two.7 million
Right after An effective two-decade operate at Baylor, M88 where by she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd period Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new stage of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived using a rewarding eight-12 months, $23.6 million deal, building her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Women of all ages's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of consistency 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 long-expression impression and advancement of top rated-tier talent have built 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.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not just considered one of the best-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire report and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous 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, improvement of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her area Among the many all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Switching Landscape in Women's Basketball
The growing salaries of these coaches are reflective in the increasing level of popularity and money viability of girls’s college or university basketball. Courses are attracting more countrywide Television set specials, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten far more invested in Females's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of progress—it’s a recognition from the effort, Management, and accomplishment these coaches carry to their courses plus the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches presently guide how regarding earnings, numerous others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has designed important strides with their respective applications and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not simply command higher salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the tradition in their universities, and elevate women’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to increase in popularity and assist, we can count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Women’s higher education basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.