5 Best-Compensated Ladies's Faculty Basketball Coaches

Females’s university basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. With all the enhanced acceptance and business results with the sport, particularly 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 go on to invest inside their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the fiscal 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 also the achievements that justify their elite payment.

1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Yearly Salary: $three.one million

Dawn Staley carries on to become the gold conventional in Girls’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Given that taking on the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to many NCAA Last 4 appearances and two countrywide 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 coach in Women of all ages's higher education basketball record. That offer has due to the fact been restructured and extended with effectiveness incentives, placing her firmly at the very best of the record.

2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $2.9 million

A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in school basketball historical past—Adult men's or women’s.

Auriemma’s longevity and consistent efficiency have ensured profitable agreement renewals. His present agreement features a foundation wage, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Although UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management retain his price significant.

three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Approximated Annual Salary: $two.seven million

Just after A prosperous two-ten years operate at Baylor, the place she gained three national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball earth by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season Together with the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a brand new level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.

Her substantial-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, generating her one among the highest-compensated Gals’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant trend, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.

four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $one.4 million

Brenda Frese has quietly designed a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than two decades.

Her very long-term impression and growth of leading-tier expertise have produced her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Section. Her present offer includes bonuses for educational overall performance, wins, and postseason good results—illustrating her twin motivation to athletics and student growth.

five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Yearly Income: $1.three million

Tara VanDerveer is not just considered M88 one of the best-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA Women of all ages's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire history and it has led Stanford to three national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Remaining Four appearances.

While VanDerveer has never been one particular to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, development of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her area Among the many all-time greats in coaching heritage.

A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective on the rising popularity and financial viability of women’s school basketball. Plans are attracting extra countrywide Tv set specials, ticket profits are raising, and company sponsors have become a lot more invested in Females'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 results these coaches provide to their applications and also the Activity as a whole.

Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at this time direct the way in which in terms of earnings, quite a few Some others are increasing:

Kelly Graves (Oregon)

Vic Schaefer (Texas)

Jeff Walz (Louisville)

Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)

Every of such coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective programs and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Gals's basketball continues to improve.

Last Views
The days of underfunded Women of all ages’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not only command significant salaries—they also mentor generations of athletes, form the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to improve in reputation and aid, we will hope these salaries—along with the profiles of such leaders—to continue climbing.

Women of all ages’s university basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for competitive sporting activities.