5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Females’s school basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. With all the elevated reputation and industrial good results on the sport, especially in NCAA Division I plans, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the value and Management these top rated-tier coaches provide for their teams and universities. As universities continue to speculate of their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the financial benefits that include making powerhouse courses.
Here’s a look at the 5 maximum-paid Women of all ages’s faculty basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their remarkable salaries but additionally the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds for being the gold standard in Gals’s higher education basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has created South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Due to the fact taking over 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 made headlines by signing a historic 7-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, earning her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college or university basketball background. That offer has because been restructured and extended with performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping 11 countrywide 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 regular effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. When UConn has confronted recent challenges with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management continue to keep his benefit superior.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Immediately after A prosperous two-10 years run at Baylor, in which she won three 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 degree of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came which has a valuable 8-year, $23.six million agreement, creating her one of the best-paid women’s coaches at any time. Recognized for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant manner, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $1.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a design of regularity at Maryland considering that taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide contention for over twenty years.
Her prolonged-time period affect and improvement of top rated-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her recent offer contains bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Estimated Yearly Wage: $one.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not just one among the best-paid coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire report and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and M88 numerous Last Four appearances.
Even though VanDerveer hasn't been one 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 history.
A Altering Landscape in Females's Basketball
The rising 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 have gotten additional invested in Girls's sports activities.
The rise in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of progress—it’s a recognition from the hard work, Management, and accomplishment these coaches carry to their programs as well as Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Though these 5 coaches at present guide how regarding earnings, numerous Other people are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of those coaches has made sizeable strides with their respective packages and could split into the top rated five in the approaching many years as Females's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’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 of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to grow in level of popularity and assistance, we could anticipate these salaries—plus the profiles of these leaders—to continue climbing.
Women’s university basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.