5 Best-Compensated Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. While using the increased reputation and industrial good results 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 Females’s school 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 generally be the gold common in Ladies’s higher education 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 numerous NCAA Closing Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she made headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.4 million agreement, earning 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 general performance incentives, placing her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball background—Adult men's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured valuable deal renewals. His current contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel deals, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament operates. While UConn has faced current problems with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth large.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $two.7 million
Immediately 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 the 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a whole new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came having a profitable eight-12 months, $23.6 million deal, generating her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant trend, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With several meeting championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in countrywide competition for more than two decades.
Her very long-phrase effects and growth of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal contains bonuses for tutorial overall performance, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and university student advancement.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Estimated Annual Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only one among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get report and M88 it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
Even though VanDerveer hasn't been one 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 position Amongst the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising 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 bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming more invested in women's sporting activities.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition on the exertions, leadership, and achievement these coaches deliver for their systems along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches presently guide the best way with regards to earnings, a number of others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has designed important strides with their respective applications and will break into your best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball continues to improve.
Last Views
The days of underfunded Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command large salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, shape the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in level of popularity and assistance, we could expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue climbing.
Women of all ages’s higher education basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.