Gals’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Together with the improved reputation and industrial accomplishment on the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I systems, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and leadership these top-tier coaches bring for their teams and universities. As universities proceed to invest of their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the money 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 will also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley carries on to be the gold typical in Females’s school basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has constructed South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Considering the fact that taking over This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to numerous NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic 7-yr, $22.4 million agreement, building her the best-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college basketball historical past. That deal has considering the fact that been restructured and extended with general performance incentives, putting her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $2.9 million
A residing legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping eleven 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—men's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular general performance have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base wage, media obligations, attire discounts, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Match runs. Even though UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management hold his price significant.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Income: $two.seven million
Soon after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by joining LSU in 2021. In just her next year Along with the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a fresh level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival arrived by using a rewarding 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her considered one of the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches ever. Known for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Females's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Estimated Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly crafted a design of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over twenty years.
Her extended-time period effect and improvement of top rated-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal involves bonuses for academic functionality, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and student growth.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Yearly Income: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely amongst the highest-paid out coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA Females's basketball heritage. 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, improvement of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her area Amongst the all-time greats in coaching record.
A Changing Landscape in Ladies's Basketball
The rising salaries of such coaches are reflective of your growing reputation and economic viability of ladies’s faculty basketball. Courses are attracting extra countrywide Television set M88 specials, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten 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 of the labor, Management, and accomplishment these coaches bring to their applications as well as the Activity in general.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches at this time direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, several Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each and every of such coaches has designed considerable 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 Gals’s plans and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not only command substantial salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, form the society of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the Activity continues to improve in acceptance and assist, we will count on these salaries—as well as profiles of those leaders—to carry on increasing.
Gals’s college basketball isn’t just trying to keep rate—it’s setting the pace for the future of competitive athletics.