five Greatest-Paid Girls's School Basketball Coaches
five Greatest-Paid Girls's School Basketball Coaches
Blog Article
Gals’s university basketball has viewed exponential advancement in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last ten years. With all the enhanced level of popularity and business achievements of your Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I systems, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and leadership these major-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 5 greatest-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.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Salary: $3.one million
Dawn Staley carries on to be 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 various NCAA Last 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she built headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.four million contract, earning her the highest-compensated Black head mentor in Females's college or university basketball historical past. 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
Believed Annual Income: $two.nine million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies into a jaw-dropping eleven countrywide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has transformed the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball background—Gentlemen's or Women of all ages’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant effectiveness have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Although UConn has faced latest issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State University (LSU)
Believed Once-a-year Wage: $2.7 million
Right after a successful two-decade run at Baylor, where by she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world M88 by joining LSU in 2021. In only her next year Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a brand new level of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-yr, $23.six million agreement, producing her among the highest-compensated Gals’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a model of regularity at Maryland considering that 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 rivalry for over 20 years.
Her long-expression impact and progress of leading-tier expertise have produced her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her present offer includes bonuses for educational general performance, wins, and postseason accomplishment—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and scholar development.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just certainly one of the very best-compensated coaches but also the winningest coach in NCAA Girls's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get report and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
Even though VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her location One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Transforming Landscape in Women of all ages's Basketball
The increasing salaries of these coaches are reflective from the expanding acceptance and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Systems are attracting additional nationwide Television bargains, ticket income are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming more invested in women's sports.
The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of your exertions, leadership, and good results these coaches deliver for their systems plus the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches currently guide the best way with regards to earnings, a number of others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each and every of these coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective programs and will break in the best 5 in the coming yrs as Females's basketball proceeds to increase.
Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Girls’s applications 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 Ladies’s basketball to new heights. Given that the sport carries on to mature in acceptance and aid, we are able to hope these salaries—as well as the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Girls’s college basketball isn’t just retaining speed—it’s location the pace for the future of competitive athletics.