5 Best-Paid out Ladies's College Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Paid out Ladies's College Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Girls’s higher education basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. Along with the increased recognition and commercial achievement from the sport, 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 proceed to invest of their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, a handful of standout coaches are reaping the money rewards that include making powerhouse systems.
Listed here’s a look at the 5 maximum-paid 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 continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college or university 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 numerous NCAA Closing Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she built headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.four million contract, building her the highest-compensated Black head coach in Gals's university basketball record. That deal has considering that been restructured and prolonged with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of the listing.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Believed Annual Wage: $two.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies into a jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has remodeled the program into one of the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball record—Guys's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable overall performance have ensured worthwhile agreement renewals. His latest deal features a foundation wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Even though UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Wage: $2.seven million
After A prosperous two-ten years operate at Baylor, in which she gained three countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball planet by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her second time with the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a whole new degree of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came which has a valuable 8-year, $23.six million contract, M88 making her amongst the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches at any time. Recognized for her passionate coaching design, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Annual Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly crafted 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 retained the Terrapins in national competition for more than two decades.
Her very long-phrase effects and advancement of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her latest deal involves bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason results—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and scholar improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just certainly one of the very best-paid out coaches but will also the winningest coach in NCAA Females's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get record and has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, advancement of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her position Amongst the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective in the increasing level of popularity and economical viability of girls’s university basketball. Packages are attracting far more nationwide Television bargains, ticket product sales are rising, and corporate sponsors are becoming a lot more invested in Girls's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of development—it’s a recognition with the labor, leadership, and success these coaches convey for their plans as well as the Activity in general.
Honorable Mentions
Although these 5 coaches at this time direct the way concerning earnings, various Some others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Just about every of these coaches has built significant strides with their respective systems and could crack in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball continues to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Because the Activity proceeds to develop in attractiveness and assistance, we could expect these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to carry on increasing.
Gals’s college basketball isn’t just trying to keep speed—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive sports activities.