Gals’s faculty basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, talent, and competitiveness over the past decade. Along with the increased recognition and commercial accomplishment of the Activity, specifically in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these top-tier coaches convey for 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 making powerhouse packages.
Right here’s a think about the 5 greatest-compensated Gals’s higher education basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not merely their amazing salaries and also the achievements that justify their elite compensation.
one. Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Believed Yearly Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds for being the gold standard in Gals’s higher education basketball coaching. A previous WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has created South Carolina right into a perennial powerhouse. Considering that taking over the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to various NCAA Ultimate 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she designed headlines by signing a historic seven-yr, $22.four million deal, producing her the best-paid Black head coach in Ladies's school basketball heritage. That offer has given that been restructured and prolonged with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
2. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Once-a-year Wage: $two.nine million
A dwelling legend, Geno Auriemma has guided the UConn Huskies to some jaw-dropping 11 nationwide titles. His tenure at UConn, which commenced in 1985, has reworked This system into Probably the most dominant dynasties in faculty basketball record—Males's or Females’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and reliable performance have ensured profitable contract renewals. His existing agreement includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament operates. While UConn has confronted recent challenges with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership preserve his price substantial.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State University (LSU)
Believed Once-a-year Income: $2.7 million
Following a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained three M88 national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball earth by becoming a member of LSU in 2021. In just her next time Using the Tigers, she led them to a 2023 countrywide championship, bringing a different stage of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came having a worthwhile 8-year, $23.six million agreement, making her one of the best-paid women’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.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Income: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland because taking on in 2002. With several meeting championships, a nationwide 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 improvement of major-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest offer contains bonuses for tutorial efficiency, wins, and postseason achievements—illustrating her dual dedication to athletics and university student advancement.
five. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford College
Believed Annual Salary: $1.three million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just certainly one of the very best-paid out coaches but will also the winningest coach in NCAA Females'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 numerous Closing Four appearances.
Though VanDerveer has never been one particular to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are correctly compensated. Her Management, enhancement of WNBA stars, and commitment to excellence have solidified her location One of the all-time greats in coaching historical past.
A Transforming Landscape in Women of all ages's Basketball
The increasing salaries of these coaches are reflective of the expanding reputation and fiscal viability of ladies’s higher education basketball. Packages are attracting additional nationwide Television bargains, ticket product sales are escalating, and corporate sponsors are becoming extra 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 on the labor, leadership, and achievements these coaches convey for their plans and also the Activity as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
Whilst these 5 coaches at this time direct the way concerning earnings, various Other folks are on the rise:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Each individual of those coaches has produced sizeable strides with their respective systems and could split in to the top 5 in the approaching several years as Ladies's basketball proceeds to develop.
Remaining Ideas
The times of underfunded Ladies’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command superior salaries—Additionally they mentor generations of athletes, condition the culture of their universities, and elevate Women of all ages’s basketball to new heights. Because the Activity continues to expand in popularity and assist, we can easily count on these salaries—as well as profiles of these leaders—to continue mounting.
Ladies’s higher education basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s placing the speed for the way forward for aggressive sports.