5 Greatest-Paid Girls's University Basketball Coaches
5 Greatest-Paid Girls's University Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s university basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. Together with the amplified popularity and commercial success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches bring for their groups and universities. As universities keep on to take a position in their women’s athletics departments, a few standout coaches are reaping the economical benefits that come with building powerhouse systems.
Below’s a consider the 5 optimum-paid women’s college or university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not simply their remarkable salaries but additionally the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley carries on to become the gold standard in Gals’s university basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has developed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Given 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 manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million contract, generating her the best-paid Black head mentor in Women of all ages's higher education basketball record. That deal has due to the fact been restructured and prolonged with effectiveness incentives, placing her firmly at the very best of the record.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly Income: $two.9 million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies into a jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has transformed the program into The most dominant dynasties in college or university basketball background—Gentlemen's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His present agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, attire discounts, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Even though UConn has confronted modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his benefit superior.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Immediately after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball entire world by becoming M88 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 brand new level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, building her considered one of the very best-paid Gals’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
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a product of consistency at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With several conference 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 extensive-phrase impact and progress of leading-tier expertise have made her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her current deal features bonuses for academic general performance, wins, and postseason good results—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and college student enhancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $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 heritage. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain report and it has led Stanford to a few countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
Even though 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 put among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Shifting Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing level of popularity and fiscal viability of girls’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional countrywide Tv set bargains, ticket income are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten far more invested in Ladies's sports.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of development—it’s a recognition with the exertions, leadership, and achievement these coaches deliver for their courses plus the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these five coaches presently guide how regarding earnings, quite a few Other people are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has built important strides with their respective plans and will break into your prime five in the coming years as Gals's basketball continues to mature.
Last Views
The days of underfunded Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command substantial salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, form the lifestyle of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport proceeds to grow in level of popularity and assistance, we could expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue growing.
Women of all ages’s university basketball isn’t just preserving rate—it’s environment the tempo for the way forward for aggressive sports.