Ladies’s university basketball has found exponential growth in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past ten years. Together with the amplified popularity and professional success of the Activity, 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 continue on to take a position within their Ladies’s athletics departments, a couple of standout coaches are reaping the financial benefits that come with creating powerhouse applications.
Listed here’s a look at the 5 optimum-paid women’s college basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not simply their amazing salaries but additionally the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Annual Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley carries on for being the gold standard in Women of all ages’s higher education basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has designed South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Considering the fact that taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to several NCAA Remaining Four appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she produced headlines by signing a historic seven-calendar year, $22.4 million agreement, making her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's university basketball record. That deal has due to the fact been restructured and prolonged with functionality incentives, positioning her firmly at the very best of the record.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly Income: $two.9 million
A living legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to your jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which began 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 agreement renewals. His recent agreement features a foundation wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. While UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his value large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Salary: $two.seven million
After a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained 3 national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd season Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival arrived using a rewarding 8-yr, $23.six million agreement, generating her among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Estimated Once-a-year Wage: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly designed a model of regularity at Maryland due to the fact taking over in 2002. With various convention championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in nationwide contention for over twenty years.
Her prolonged-term impression and advancement of top-tier talent have built her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal features bonuses for academic general performance, wins, and postseason good results—illustrating her twin commitment to athletics and college student development.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just among the very best-paid coaches but will also the winningest mentor in NCAA Females's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get report and it has led Stanford to 3 national titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, progress of WNBA stars, and determination to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Shifting Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The expanding salaries of such coaches are M88 reflective of the growing reputation and economic viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting far more nationwide Television bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming more invested in Women of all ages'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 as well as the sport as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
While these 5 coaches currently guide how with regard to earnings, various Other folks are increasing:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each of such coaches has manufactured substantial strides with their respective programs and will break in the best 5 in the coming decades as Girls'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 sport proceeds to develop in attractiveness and help, we can easily anticipate these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue soaring.
Ladies’s faculty basketball isn’t just maintaining tempo—it’s placing the rate for the future of competitive sports activities.