5 Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Faculty Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s school basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Together with the greater attractiveness and professional success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches deliver for their groups and universities. As universities continue on to take a position within their Females’s athletics departments, several standout coaches are reaping the economical rewards that come with developing powerhouse programs.
In this article’s a consider the five highest-paid out Females’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their extraordinary salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds to get the gold regular in Women of all ages’s faculty basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has crafted South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to multiple NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she made headlines by signing a historic seven-12 months, $22.four million contract, building her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Ladies's college or university basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and extended with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Income: $two.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has remodeled This system into one of the most dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—men's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable performance have ensured worthwhile agreement renewals. His latest deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing promotions, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. Though UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his price large.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Wage: $2.7 million
Right after An effective two-decade run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball earth by signing up for LSU in 2021. In just her second season Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a completely new amount of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her substantial-profile arrival came having a profitable 8-calendar year, $23.6 million deal, generating her one among the very best-paid Gals’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly developed a model of consistency at Maryland given that taking on in 2002. With many conference championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over twenty years.
Her extended-time period affect and improvement of major-tier M88 talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic general performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and scholar improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just one among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire report and it has led Stanford to 3 national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Ultimate Four 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 place among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Modifying Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The expanding salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing recognition and economic viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Tv set discounts, ticket profits are raising, and corporate sponsors have become a lot more invested in Females's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not merely a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of the effort, Management, and accomplishment these coaches provide to their programs and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at this time direct the way in terms of earnings, quite a few Some others are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of such coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective programs and will crack in the top rated five in the approaching yrs as Females's basketball continues to improve.
Last Views
The days of underfunded Women of all ages’s packages and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command significant salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, form the tradition in their universities, and elevate Ladies’s basketball to new heights. Given that the sport carries on to mature in level of popularity and assistance, we could anticipate these salaries—plus the profiles of these leaders—to continue climbing.
Women’s higher education basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the rate for the way forward for competitive sports activities.