5 Best-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women of all ages’s college or university basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. While using the elevated recognition and industrial accomplishment with the Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and Management these major-tier coaches convey for their teams and universities. As universities carry on to speculate of their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include constructing powerhouse plans.
Right here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated Girls’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley carries on to be the gold typical in Females’s college basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Because taking on This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to various NCAA Closing Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she created headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million contract, generating her the highest-paid Black head coach in Gals's university basketball historical past. That deal has since been restructured and extended with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the best of this list.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has transformed This system into Just about the most dominant dynasties in college or university basketball background—Adult men's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular performance have ensured rewarding deal renewals. His latest deal features a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Even though UConn has confronted the latest challenges with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Following a successful two-decade operate at Baylor, where she received a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball entire world by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her second season with the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new degree of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came having a profitable eight-year, $23.six million deal, generating her amongst the highest-paid women’s coaches at any time. Noted for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of consistency at Maryland given that taking over in 2002. With various meeting championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has retained the Terrapins in national rivalry for over twenty years.
Her extended-term impression and advancement of prime-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic general performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her twin dedication to athletics and university student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just among the best-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain document and has led Stanford to a few countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last 4 appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been one particular to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her place among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Transforming Landscape M88 in Women of all ages's Basketball
The growing salaries of those coaches are reflective on the escalating popularity and monetary viability of women’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional countrywide Television set promotions, ticket sales are growing, and corporate sponsors are becoming more invested in women's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of progress—it’s a recognition in the labor, leadership, and success these coaches bring for their courses as well as Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches at this time direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, several Many others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has made sizeable strides with their respective systems and could crack to the leading 5 in the coming years as Gals's basketball continues to mature.
Closing Ideas
The times of underfunded Females’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not simply command higher salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the lifestyle of their universities, and elevate Gals’s basketball to new heights. Because the Activity proceeds to expand in popularity and guidance, we are able to hope 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 pace for the future of competitive athletics.