5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's College or university Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Compensated Ladies's College or university Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s university basketball has observed exponential progress in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. With the elevated recognition and commercial achievement in the sport, especially in NCAA Division I programs, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches deliver to their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position within their Ladies’s athletics departments, a few standout coaches are reaping the financial benefits that include creating powerhouse applications.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their spectacular 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 Women of all ages’s university basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has designed South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Due to the fact taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, making her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's school basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, positioning her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has remodeled This system into one of the most dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced latest problems with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth significant.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Once-a-year 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 earth by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her second time While using the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a fresh level of pleasure and spotlight to Baton M88 Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came which has a beneficial 8-year, $23.six million contract, making her one of the very best-paid out women’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed 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 held the Terrapins in national competition for more than two decades.
Her prolonged-term impression and improvement of major-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her latest deal involves bonuses for academic functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and pupil progress.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 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, 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 from the developing level of popularity and money viability of girls’s faculty basketball. Systems are attracting extra countrywide Tv set discounts, ticket income are rising, and corporate sponsors are becoming much more invested in Ladies's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of your exertions, leadership, and achievement these coaches deliver for their systems along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches now direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, quite a few Some others are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of such coaches has created substantial strides with their respective courses and could crack in to the major five in the approaching many years as Women of all ages's basketball carries on to increase.
Closing Ideas
The days of underfunded Ladies’s applications and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command large salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the lifestyle in their universities, and elevate Females’s basketball to new heights. Given that the sport carries on to mature in acceptance and support, we will hope these salaries—as well as the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Girls’s college or university basketball isn’t just retaining speed—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive sports activities.