5 Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s faculty basketball has noticed exponential growth in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness over the past decade. With the elevated reputation and commercial achievement in the sport, especially in NCAA Division I applications, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the worth and Management these prime-tier coaches carry to their groups and universities. As universities go on to speculate inside their Females’s athletics departments, several standout coaches are reaping the monetary 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 Yearly Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues to become the gold standard in Gals’s higher education basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has designed 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 7-year, $22.four million contract, generating her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Ladies's faculty basketball background. That deal has considering the fact that been restructured and extended with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping 11 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—Males's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable performance have ensured worthwhile agreement renewals. His present-day deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing deals, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. While UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management keep his value high.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $2.seven million
After a successful two-decade operate at Baylor, wherever she gained 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season Using the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a completely new amount of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her high-profile arrival arrived by using a lucrative 8-calendar year, $23.six million contract, making her one of the best-paid women’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed M88 a design of regularity at Maryland considering that taking over in 2002. With many convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in national rivalry for over 20 years.
Her lengthy-expression influence and enhancement of top rated-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her existing offer contains bonuses for tutorial functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn history and has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Ultimate 4 appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The expanding salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing recognition and monetary viability of women’s university basketball. Plans are attracting a lot more nationwide Television offers, ticket revenue are growing, and corporate sponsors are getting to be extra invested in Women of all ages's athletics.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of development—it’s a recognition in the labor, leadership, and achievements these coaches provide to their applications and also the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches at the moment lead just how concerning earnings, various Other folks are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each of those coaches has produced significant strides with their respective systems and could split in to the major five in the approaching many years as women'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 significant salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Gals’s basketball to new heights. As the sport proceeds to develop in level of popularity and assistance, we could expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue growing.
Women of all ages’s school basketball isn’t just preserving rate—it’s setting the pace for the future of competitive athletics.