Women of all ages’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. While using the increased recognition and industrial good results in the sport, especially in NCAA Division I applications, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the worth and Management these best-tier coaches carry to 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.
Here’s a think about the five highest-compensated Females’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not only their spectacular salaries and also 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 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 the program 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 created headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million deal, creating her the very best-compensated Black head coach in Gals's faculty basketball record. That offer has because been restructured and prolonged with effectiveness incentives, placing her firmly at the highest of the list.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Estimated Once-a-year Income: $2.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some jaw-dropping eleven national titles. His tenure at UConn, which started in 1985, has remodeled This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball history—Guys's or Gals’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and constant functionality have ensured valuable contract renewals. His present agreement includes a base wage, media obligations, attire specials, and significant bonuses tied to NCAA Event operates. Though UConn has confronted recent difficulties with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition University (LSU)
Estimated Annual Salary: $two.seven million
Just after a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she received 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball globe by joining LSU in 2021. In only her next year Along with the Tigers, she led them to your 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a whole new degree of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her superior-profile arrival arrived by using a worthwhile 8-year, $23.6 million deal, making her one of the very best-paid Women of all ages’s coaches at any time. Noted for her passionate coaching design and style, flamboyant trend, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Gals's hoops.
4. Brenda Frese – College of Maryland
Approximated Annual Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland since taking up in 2002. With several conference championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Match appearances, Frese has kept the Terrapins in countrywide rivalry for more than two decades.
Her very long-phrase impact and progress of leading-tier expertise have created her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Office. Her existing offer contains bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her dual determination to athletics and pupil enhancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Believed Once-a-year Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is not only one among the best-paid coaches but in addition the winningest mentor in NCAA women's basketball historical past. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time earn record 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, growth of WNBA stars, and motivation to excellence have solidified her put among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Changing Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The escalating salaries of these coaches are reflective of the expanding popularity and fiscal viability of ladies’s faculty basketball. Courses are attracting more countrywide Television set deals, ticket profits are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten additional M88 invested in Gals's athletics.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a sign of development—it’s a recognition of your effort, Management, and accomplishment these coaches carry to their programs and the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches now direct the way in which when it comes to earnings, a number of others are rising:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every single of these coaches has produced major strides with their respective programs and could break into the top five in the approaching decades as Gals's basketball carries on to grow.
Closing Thoughts
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not merely command high salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, shape the lifestyle in their universities, and elevate Females’s basketball to new heights. As the sport proceeds to develop in attractiveness and help, we can easily count on these salaries—and the profiles of those leaders—to carry on rising.
Girls’s college basketball isn’t just retaining rate—it’s setting the pace for the future of competitive sports activities.