five Highest-Paid Ladies's University Basketball Coaches

Females’s faculty basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Along with the amplified popularity and commercial achievement from the sport, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the worth and leadership these leading-tier coaches deliver for their groups and universities. As universities keep on to take a position within their women’s athletics departments, a few standout coaches are reaping the economical benefits that come with building powerhouse courses.

Here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their extraordinary salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite payment.

1. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Estimated Yearly Salary: $three.1 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 national championships (2017 and 2022).

In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million deal, producing her the best-paid Black head coach in Women of all ages's university basketball heritage. That deal has considering that been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this checklist.

two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Annual Salary: $2.nine million

A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to the jaw-dropping 11 national titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled This system into one of the most dominant dynasties in university basketball record—Adult men's or women’s.

Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured valuable deal renewals. His current contract includes a base income, media obligations, clothing deals, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. Though UConn has confronted the latest challenges with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management continue to keep his benefit superior.

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

Immediately after An effective two-10 years run at Baylor, exactly where she won a few countrywide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball planet by joining LSU in 2021. In only her next year Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a new amount of pleasure and spotlight to Baton Rouge.

Her high-profile arrival arrived by using a rewarding 8-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, generating her among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Women of all ages's hoops.

4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Wage: $1.4 million

Brenda Frese has quietly constructed a product of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking up in 2002. With numerous meeting championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event appearances, Frese has stored the Terrapins in countrywide contention for more than two decades.

Her prolonged-term impression and advancement of major-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal involves bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual motivation to athletics and university student advancement.

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

Tara VanDerveer is not only among the best-compensated coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Girls's basketball record. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get file and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and various Final Four appearances.

Although VanDerveer has not been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are properly compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching background.

A Modifying Landscape in Females's Basketball
The rising salaries of those coaches are reflective with the rising attractiveness and financial viability of girls’s college basketball. Programs are attracting more countrywide Television set promotions, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten a lot more invested in Females's sports activities.

The increase in coaching salaries is not simply a sign of progress—it’s a recognition of the effort, leadership, and good results these coaches deliver for their packages as well as Activity as a whole.

Honorable Mentions
Though these 5 coaches at present lead how regarding earnings, numerous Other people are rising:

Kelly Graves (Oregon)

Vic Schaefer (Texas)

Jeff Walz (Louisville)

Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)

Every single of these coaches has built important strides with their respective applications and will break in the best 5 in the coming yrs as Females's basketball proceeds M88 to expand.

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. As being the sport continues to improve in reputation and guidance, we are able to be expecting these salaries—and also the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.

Females’s faculty basketball isn’t just maintaining tempo—it’s placing the rate for the way forward for competitive sports activities.