5 Highest-Paid Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Highest-Paid Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s higher education basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past ten years. Together with the greater attractiveness and professional achievements of your Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and Management these top rated-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities continue to speculate inside their Females’s athletics departments, several standout coaches are reaping the economic benefits that include constructing powerhouse plans.
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
Approximated Annual Wage: $3.1 million
Dawn Staley continues being the gold normal in women’s faculty 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 created headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.four million deal, producing her the best-paid Black head coach in Women of all ages's university basketball record. That deal has considering that been restructured and prolonged with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this record.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly Income: $two.9 million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies into a jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has transformed the program into The most dominant dynasties in university basketball historical past—Adult males's or women’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Although UConn has faced latest issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Wage: $2.7 million
After a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, the place she gained three national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In just her second time While using the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a whole new degree of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came which has a valuable 8-yr, M88 $23.six million agreement, producing her certainly one of the best-paid out Females’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching fashion, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Approximated Annual Income: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly crafted a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has retained the Terrapins in national rivalry for over 20 years.
Her long-expression impact and progress of leading-tier expertise have made her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her current deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her dual determination to athletics and pupil progress.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only one among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Girls's basketball record. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get file and it 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, progress of WNBA stars, and commitment to excellence have solidified her area Amongst the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Shifting Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The increasing salaries of these coaches are reflective from the increasing level of popularity and economical viability of girls’s faculty basketball. Programs are attracting much more national TV deals, ticket sales are increasing, and company sponsors are getting to be additional invested in Gals's athletics.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of development—it’s a recognition in the hard work, Management, and results these coaches convey for their plans and also the Activity in general.
Honorable Mentions
Although these 5 coaches at this time lead the way in terms of earnings, quite a few Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each and every of such coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective applications and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Females'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, 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.
Girls’s college or university basketball isn’t just retaining speed—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive athletics.