5 Highest-Paid out Ladies's School Basketball Coaches

Gals’s faculty basketball has noticed exponential progress in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past 10 years. With the elevated reputation and industrial accomplishment on the sport, particularly in NCAA Division I plans, coaching salaries have risen to reflect the value and Management these top rated-tier coaches provide to their teams and universities. As universities carry on to invest of their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the fiscal rewards that include setting up powerhouse packages.

Listed here’s a look at the 5 optimum-paid women’s college basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing don't just their outstanding salaries but in addition the achievements that justify their elite compensation.

one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Approximated Annual Income: $3.one million

Dawn Staley continues to generally be the gold common in Ladies’s college or university basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has built South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since 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 created headlines by signing a historic seven-year, $22.4 million deal, producing her the highest-paid out Black head mentor in Females's college or university basketball background. That offer has because been restructured and extended with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.

2. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Believed Annual Wage: $2.nine million

A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to a jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which began in 1985, has remodeled the program into Among the most dominant dynasties in college basketball historical past—Adult men's or women’s.

Auriemma’s longevity and steady effectiveness have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His present contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel bargains, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced latest issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his worth large.

3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Yearly Wage: $2.7 million

Following a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, where she received a few 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 profitable eight-12 months, $23.6 million deal, generating her one among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching type, flamboyant style, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.

4. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Approximated Annual Income: $1.four million

Brenda Frese has quietly developed a model of consistency at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With several conference championships, a nationwide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Event 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 made her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her present-day deal incorporates bonuses for academic functionality, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her dual determination to athletics and student growth.

five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Estimated Yearly Wage: $one.three million

Tara VanDerveer is not just one among the best-paid coaches but additionally the winningest coach in NCAA Gals's basketball history. 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.

When VanDerveer has never been a single 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 history.

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

The M88 rise in coaching salaries is not only an indication of progress—it’s a recognition from the hard work, leadership, and achievements these coaches carry to their programs as well as Activity as a whole.

Honorable Mentions
Though these 5 coaches at present 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 yrs as Females's basketball proceeds to increase.

Final Feelings
The times of underfunded Females’s programs and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches don't just command superior salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Since the Activity continues to increase in popularity and assist, we can count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.

Women’s higher education basketball isn’t just holding pace—it’s environment the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.