5 Best-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
5 Best-Compensated Women's University Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Women’s college or university basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Along with the amplified popularity and commercial success of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these top-tier coaches convey for their teams and universities. As universities carry on to invest of their Gals’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include making powerhouse packages.
Right here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their spectacular salaries and 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 be the gold typical in Females’s college basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Because taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Last 4 appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.four million deal, creating her the best-paid Black head coach in Gals's school basketball heritage. That offer has because been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this listing.
two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Estimated Annual Wage: $two.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 one of the most dominant dynasties in university basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced current difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership keep his value high.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Point out College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $2.seven million
Soon after a successful two-ten years run at Baylor, where she received a few nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a different stage of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her higher-profile arrival arrived that has a worthwhile 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Gals’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact 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 extensive-phrase effects and growth of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her latest deal involves bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and scholar improvement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $one.three 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 heritage. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
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 dedication to excellence have solidified her area Among the many all-time greats in coaching record.
A Switching Landscape in Women's Basketball
The growing salaries of these coaches are reflective from the developing acceptance and fiscal viability of women’s school basketball. Applications are attracting much more national TV deals, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten a lot more invested in Females'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 plans and also the Activity M88 as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at the moment lead just how with regard to earnings, numerous Other people are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective programs and will break to the leading 5 in the approaching several years as Ladies's basketball proceeds to develop.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s systems and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command significant salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in acceptance and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on soaring.
Females’s faculty basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.