Females’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. With the improved level of popularity and professional achievements of your Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and Management these major-tier coaches convey for their teams and universities. As universities carry on to invest of their Gals’s athletics departments, a number of standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include constructing powerhouse plans.
Right here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive 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 continues to be the gold typical in Females’s college basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Because 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 produced headlines by signing a historic seven-12 months, $22.four million contract, generating her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Girls's school basketball background. That offer has due to the fact been restructured and extended with general performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Estimated Yearly Wage: $two.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some 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 historical past—Adult men's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant general performance have ensured rewarding agreement renewals. His present-day deal features a foundation income, media obligations, clothing offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced current issues with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership hold his price substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Once-a-year Income: $two.7 million
Soon after An effective two-decade run at Baylor, where she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball globe by joining LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd period With all the Tigers, she led them to some 2023 national championship, bringing a completely new amount of excitement and spotlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived using a rewarding eight-calendar year, $23.6 million contract, earning her amongst the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches at any time. Known for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant vogue, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Females's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Estimated Yearly Salary: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a model of regularity at Maryland given that taking on in 2002. With a number of conference championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in countrywide competition for more than two decades.
Her extensive-phrase effects and growth of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason good results—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and college M88 student development.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Salary: $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 heritage. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain record and has led Stanford to three nationwide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and diverse Closing 4 appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has not been one 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 put among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Modifying Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The raising salaries of such coaches are reflective of the expanding acceptance and money viability of ladies’s faculty basketball. Systems are attracting extra countrywide Tv set specials, ticket gross sales are expanding, 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 from the effort, Management, and accomplishment these coaches provide to their applications and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at the moment lead the way concerning earnings, various Some others are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of such coaches has manufactured considerable strides with their respective programs and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls's basketball proceeds to increase.
Last Feelings
The days of underfunded Gals’s applications and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command substantial salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, form the lifestyle of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. Given that the sport proceeds to develop in level of popularity and help, we can easily count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Ladies’s faculty basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the rate for the future of competitive athletics.