5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s higher education basketball has found exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. With the elevated reputation and commercial results of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I plans, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and Management these major-tier coaches convey 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 monetary benefits that include creating powerhouse applications.
Here’s a think about the five highest-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 continues to be the gold typical in Females’s college basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Given that taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to many NCAA Last 4 appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.four million contract, generating her the best-paid Black head coach in Women of all ages's higher education basketball record. That deal has due to the fact been restructured and extended with effectiveness incentives, placing her firmly at the very best of the record.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Estimated Yearly Income: $2.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has reworked 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 rewarding agreement renewals. His latest deal features a foundation wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match operates. Even though UConn has confronted modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management hold his price substantial.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Once-a-year Income: $two.7 million
Right after An effective two-decade operate at Baylor, where she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season With all the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a completely new amount of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived by using a rewarding 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her amongst the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches ever. Known for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Females's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a design of regularity at Maryland considering that taking over in 2002. With many conference 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 long-expression influence and enhancement of major-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her twin determination to athletics and pupil progress.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat M88 Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
While VanDerveer has never been a single to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her Management, progress of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her place One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Shifting Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The expanding salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing reputation and economic viability of ladies’s university basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Tv set discounts, ticket product sales are growing, and corporate sponsors are becoming more invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition with the exertions, leadership, and success these coaches convey for their packages as well as the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Although these five coaches now direct the way in which 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 courses and could crack to the leading 5 in the coming yrs as Ladies's basketball proceeds to develop.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command superior salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to increase in popularity and assist, we can assume these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Ladies’s faculty basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the rate for the way forward for competitive sports activities.