5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s university basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. While using the increased recognition 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 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 Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley carries on to become the gold conventional in Girls’s university basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has developed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Considering that taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to various NCAA Ultimate 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she designed headlines by signing a historic 7-yr, $22.four million contract, generating her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in women's higher education basketball history. 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 national titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has remodeled This system into One of the more dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Although UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management hold his price substantial.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Income: $two.7 million
Soon after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball planet by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her next year Along with the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a fresh level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, producing her certainly one of the best-paid out Ladies’s coaches at any time. Recognized for her passionate coaching design, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Women of all ages's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Once-a-year Wage: $1.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of consistency at Maryland since taking up in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than twenty years.
Her M88 prolonged-term affect and improvement of major-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal involves bonuses for tutorial functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and pupil progress.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn history and it has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been a single to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her leadership, progress of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her place among the all-time greats in coaching record.
A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective on the rising attractiveness and financial viability of girls’s college basketball. Applications are attracting much more national TV deals, ticket sales are increasing, and company sponsors are getting to be additional invested in Gals's athletics.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of progress—it’s a recognition in the hard work, Management, and results these coaches provide to their programs as well as Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these 5 coaches at present guide how with regard to earnings, many Other individuals are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of those coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective packages and will break in the best 5 in the coming years as Girls's basketball continues to improve.
Last 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 tradition in their universities, and elevate women’s basketball to new heights. As being the Activity continues to improve in recognition and guidance, we can be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on soaring.
Females’s college or university basketball isn’t just maintaining tempo—it’s placing the rate for the future of competitive sports activities.