5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Girls’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Together with the greater attractiveness and professional success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches bring for their teams and universities. As universities proceed to invest of their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, a handful of standout coaches are reaping the money rewards that come with setting up powerhouse systems.
Listed here’s a look at the 5 maximum-paid Women of all ages’s faculty basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their extraordinary salaries but also the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Yearly Salary: $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 a number of NCAA Final Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she created headlines by signing a historic seven-12 months, $22.4 million agreement, earning her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college or university basketball background. That offer has since 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 Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball historical past—Adult men's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured valuable deal renewals. His current contract features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing promotions, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. Though UConn has confronted the latest worries with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his price significant.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Once-a-year Income: $two.7 million
Right after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, in which she won three nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by joining LSU in 2021. In just her next year Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a new amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her high-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 for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: M88 $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of consistency at Maryland since taking up in 2002. With multiple convention championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over twenty years.
Her lengthy-time period effect and enhancement of best-tier expertise have created her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her present offer includes bonuses for educational performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and college student enhancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA Women of all ages's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire record and has led Stanford to a few countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Final Four appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has not been just one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, development of WNBA stars, and commitment to excellence have solidified her spot One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Transforming Landscape in Women of all ages's Basketball
The increasing salaries of such coaches are reflective of the expanding reputation and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Television bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming extra invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not only an indication of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, leadership, and achievements these coaches provide to their applications and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at the moment lead the way concerning earnings, various Other folks are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of those coaches has produced sizeable strides with their respective packages and could split in to the major five in the approaching a long time as Women of all ages's basketball carries on to grow.
Closing Thoughts
The days of underfunded Women of all ages’s packages and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not only 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 carries on to grow in acceptance and support, we will hope these salaries—as well as the profiles of such leaders—to carry on increasing.
Girls’s college basketball isn’t just trying to keep rate—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive athletics.