5 Greatest-Paid Girls's College Basketball Coaches
5 Greatest-Paid Girls's College Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Girls’s higher education basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. 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 Management these prime-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities carry on to speculate of their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the economic rewards that include constructing powerhouse plans.
Right here’s a think about the five greatest-compensated Gals’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 carries on to be the gold typical in Females’s college basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Final Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.four million agreement, earning her the very best-compensated Black head mentor in Girls's college basketball historical past. That offer has because been restructured and prolonged with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of the checklist.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Annual Salary: $2.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a 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 heritage—men's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular general performance have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced current problems with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his value higher.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $2.seven million
Just after A prosperous two-10 years run at Baylor, in which she won a few national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for 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 substantial-profile arrival came with a profitable 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches ever. Known for her passionate coaching model, 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 developed a product of consistency at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than twenty years.
Her prolonged-time period affect and improvement of top rated-tier talent have manufactured her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer consists of bonuses for tutorial overall performance, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and scholar improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the highest-paid out coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse M88 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 put among the all-time greats in coaching history.
A Altering Landscape in Females's Basketball
The rising salaries of those coaches are reflective with the expanding acceptance and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional nationwide Tv set bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, 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 on the labor, leadership, and achievements these coaches convey to their applications and also the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at the moment lead just 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)
Just about every of those coaches has made major strides with their respective plans and will split into your prime 5 in the coming years as Girls's basketball continues to improve.
Last Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not simply command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture in their universities, and elevate women’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity proceeds to expand in popularity and assist, we can count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Women’s university basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the tempo for the way forward for aggressive sporting activities.