5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s college or university basketball has observed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. With the elevated 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, some standout coaches are reaping the money rewards that include making powerhouse packages.
Listed here’s a look at the 5 maximum-paid Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their extraordinary 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 previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Because 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-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, making her the very best-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college or university basketball background. That offer has since been restructured and extended with performance incentives, putting her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly Income: $two.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some 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—men's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable general performance have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. While UConn has faced recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management keep his price superior.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Income: $two.7 million
Soon after An effective two-decade operate at Baylor, where by she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her second season with the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a different stage of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came which has a beneficial 8-year, $23.six million agreement, generating her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Women of all ages's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of consistency at Maryland due to the fact taking up in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has saved M88 the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over 20 years.
Her lengthy-expression influence and progress of best-tier expertise have produced her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her present deal features bonuses for educational 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: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn history and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Remaining 4 appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has not been just one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, development of WNBA stars, and commitment to excellence have solidified her spot One of the all-time greats in coaching heritage.
A Switching Landscape in Women's Basketball
The growing salaries of these coaches are reflective from the developing acceptance and money viability of girls’s faculty basketball. Courses are attracting extra countrywide Tv set discounts, ticket profits are raising, and corporate sponsors have become much more invested in Ladies's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of your exertions, leadership, and achievement these coaches bring for their systems along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches currently guide the best way when it comes to earnings, several Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each and every of such coaches has manufactured considerable strides with their respective programs and will break in the leading 5 in the coming yrs as Females's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Females’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the tradition in their universities, and elevate women’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to expand in popularity and assist, we can count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Women’s higher education basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.