five Optimum-Compensated Women's Higher education Basketball Coaches

Women’s college basketball has observed exponential expansion in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. With all the enhanced level of popularity and professional achievements of your Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I systems, coaching salaries have risen to mirror 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, some standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include making powerhouse packages.

Listed here’s a look at the five greatest-compensated Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not simply their amazing salaries but in addition the achievements that justify their elite compensation.

one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Income: $3.1 million

Dawn Staley proceeds to get the gold regular in Women of all ages’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has designed South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Considering the fact that taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two countrywide championships (2017 and 2022).

In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million deal, creating her the best-paid Black head coach in Gals's university basketball record. That deal has due to the fact been restructured and extended with general performance incentives, placing her firmly at the highest of the record.

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

A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has reworked the program into Just about the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball history—Guys's or Girls’s.

Auriemma’s longevity and consistent efficiency have ensured beneficial deal renewals. His current contract features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing promotions, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event runs. Whilst UConn has faced current issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership hold his price significant.

three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Salary: $2.seven million

Just after A prosperous two-decade operate at Baylor, where by she received a few nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball earth by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her second season with the Tigers, she led them to the 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a different amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.

Her M88 large-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, generating her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.

four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Salary: $1.four million

Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking up in 2002. With numerous conference championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has retained the Terrapins in national rivalry for over two decades.

Her extensive-expression influence and enhancement of best-tier expertise have produced her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her latest deal involves bonuses for academic functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student advancement.

five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Estimated Annual Wage: $one.three million

Tara VanDerveer is don't just among the very best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest mentor in NCAA Women of all ages's basketball background. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time acquire report and it has led Stanford to 3 national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.

Even though VanDerveer hasn't been a person to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her put One of the all-time greats in coaching heritage.

A Shifting Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The raising salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing recognition and economic viability of women’s university basketball. Plans are attracting a lot more national TV offers, ticket revenue are increasing, and company sponsors have gotten far more invested in Girls's sports activities.

The rise in coaching salaries is not merely an indication of progress—it’s a recognition of the effort, leadership, and good results these coaches deliver for their systems along with the sport in general.

Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches now direct the way in which with regards to earnings, quite a few Other individuals are increasing:

Kelly Graves (Oregon)

Vic Schaefer (Texas)

Jeff Walz (Louisville)

Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)

Just about every of those coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective courses and could crack in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball proceeds to increase.

Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Females’s courses 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 level of popularity and help, we could anticipate these salaries—plus the profiles of such leaders—to continue climbing.

Women of all ages’s university basketball isn’t just preserving rate—it’s environment the tempo for the way forward for aggressive sporting activities.