5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women of all ages’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Together with the greater attractiveness and professional achievements of your Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these prime-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities continue to speculate of their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that come with setting up powerhouse courses.
Below’s a consider the five highest-compensated Gals’s faculty basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their remarkable salaries but also the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $3.1 million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Females’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has developed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Considering that taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to numerous 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, generating her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college basketball historical past. That offer has due to the fact been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this record.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Estimated Annual Wage: $two.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in higher education basketball record—Guys's or Gals’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and consistent functionality have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present agreement includes a base wage, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match operates. Though UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Yearly Wage: $2.7 million
Soon after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, in which she won three national titles, Kim M88 Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd year Along with the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a whole new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived by using a worthwhile 8-year, $23.six million agreement, creating her certainly one of the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Females's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of consistency at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With many convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than two decades.
Her long-expression influence and development of top rated-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal features bonuses for educational general performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student progress.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Believed Annual Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the very best-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA Females's basketball record. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time win file and it has led Stanford to 3 national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing Four appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been one particular to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her leadership, progress of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her place One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Switching Landscape in Women's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective on the escalating recognition and economic viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional countrywide Tv set specials, ticket product sales are rising, and corporate sponsors have become a lot more invested in Females's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, leadership, and accomplishment these coaches deliver to their applications and also the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches at present direct how regarding earnings, numerous Other individuals are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each of those coaches has created substantial strides with their respective programs and will break into your prime five in the approaching a long time as women's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The days of underfunded Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not only command significant salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to improve in acceptance and support, we will expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue climbing.
Women’s higher education basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the rate for the future of competitive sporting activities.