Gals’s faculty basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. Using the enhanced level of popularity and professional achievements of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I programs, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these best-tier coaches carry to their groups and universities. As universities go on to speculate inside their Girls’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the economic rewards that include constructing powerhouse packages.
Right here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated women’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing don't just their spectacular salaries but in addition the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Annual Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college or university basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since 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 built headlines by signing a historic 7-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, making her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's school basketball heritage. That offer has considering that been restructured and prolonged with effectiveness incentives, placing her firmly at the very best of the listing.
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 This system into The most dominant dynasties in college or university basketball background—Gentlemen's or Gals’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and consistent efficiency have ensured worthwhile deal renewals. His present-day deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing deals, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. While UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership keep his value higher.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Wage: $2.7 million
Following a successful 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 2nd season Using the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a new amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton M88 Rouge.
Her high-profile arrival arrived that has a worthwhile 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her amongst the very best-paid women’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Girls's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly built a design of consistency at Maryland considering the fact that taking up in 2002. With multiple convention championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than twenty years.
Her prolonged-term impression and improvement of major-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal involves bonuses for academic functionality, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her dual determination to athletics and pupil progress.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Income: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not simply one of the very best-paid out coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA Ladies's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain document and has led Stanford to a few nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Final Four appearances.
Although VanDerveer has not been a person to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, advancement of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her position Amongst the all-time greats in coaching record.
A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The escalating salaries of those coaches are reflective on the increasing level of popularity and economical viability of girls’s college basketball. Programs are attracting more nationwide Television set bargains, ticket profits are raising, and company sponsors have gotten additional invested in Girls's sporting activities.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition with the labor, leadership, and success these coaches bring for their packages along with the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches now direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, a number of Other individuals are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of those coaches has produced significant strides with their respective applications and could break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball continues to increase.
Final Feelings
The days of underfunded Girls’s programs 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. As being the Activity continues to improve in reputation and aid, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Girls’s college basketball isn’t just retaining pace—it’s setting the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.