Women’s college basketball has witnessed exponential expansion in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last 10 years. With all the greater attractiveness and commercial good results in the sport, particularly in NCAA Division I courses, coaching salaries have risen to replicate the value and leadership these best-tier coaches deliver to their teams and universities. As universities keep on to take a position inside their Women of all ages’s athletics departments, a handful of standout coaches are reaping the monetary rewards that come with building powerhouse courses.
Below’s a consider the 5 optimum-paid out Ladies’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 – College of South Carolina
Approximated Annual Income: $3.one million
Dawn Staley continues being the gold normal 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. Because taking up the program in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to multiple NCAA Last 4 appearances and two nationwide championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she manufactured headlines by signing a historic 7-yr, $22.four million contract, generating her the best-paid Black head mentor in women's faculty basketball history. That deal has since been restructured and extended with overall performance incentives, inserting her firmly at the best of this checklist.
two. Geno Auriemma – College of Connecticut
Believed Annual Income: $2.9 million
A residing 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 Just about the most dominant dynasties in school basketball heritage—Adult males's or Ladies’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and regular general performance have ensured lucrative contract renewals. His existing contract includes a base salary, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Whilst UConn has faced latest issues with injuries and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and leadership maintain his worth large.
3. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana State College (LSU)
Believed Once-a-year Wage: $2.7 million
Following a successful two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained three national titles, Kim Mulkey stunned the basketball environment by signing up for LSU in 2021. In just her second time with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 nationwide championship, bringing a different stage of excitement and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her significant-profile arrival came having a lucrative eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, producing her certainly one of the best-paid out Ladies’s coaches ever. Recognized for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant fashion, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in women's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Annual Income: $one.4 million
Brenda Frese has quietly developed a design of regularity at Maryland considering that taking up in 2002. With various conference championships, a national title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has held the Terrapins in countrywide contention for over two decades.
Her extended-term influence and progress of top-tier talent have created her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic Division. Her recent deal involves bonuses for educational general performance, wins, and postseason success—illustrating her twin motivation to athletics and scholar progress.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Yearly Salary: $one.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is not merely considered one of the very best-paid out coaches and also the winningest mentor in NCAA Females's basketball history. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time gain file and has led Stanford to a few countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Final Four appearances.
Whilst VanDerveer has never been one to chase flashy contracts, Stanford has ensured that her legacy and contributions are appropriately compensated. Her leadership, growth of WNBA stars, and dedication to excellence have solidified her spot Among the many all-time greats in coaching history.
A Transforming Landscape in Girls's Basketball
The growing salaries of those coaches are reflective from the rising level of popularity and money viability of girls’s school basketball. Packages are attracting a lot more nationwide Television specials, ticket revenue are escalating, and corporate sponsors have become far more invested in Women of all ages's sporting activities.
The increase in coaching salaries is not only a M88 sign of development—it’s a recognition of your labor, Management, and achievements these coaches provide to their applications as well as the Activity in general.
Honorable Mentions
When these five coaches currently direct just how with regard to earnings, several Many others are going up:
Kelly Graves (Oregon)
Vic Schaefer (Texas)
Jeff Walz (Louisville)
Courtney Banghart (North Carolina)
Every of these coaches has designed considerable strides with their respective applications and could crack in to the major 5 in the approaching many years as Women of all ages's basketball continues to increase.
Remaining Thoughts
The days of underfunded Females’s courses and underpaid coaches are steadily fading. These elite coaches not just command large salaries—In addition they mentor generations of athletes, condition the tradition of their universities, and elevate Girls’s basketball to new heights. As the sport carries on to grow in acceptance and aid, we will assume these salaries—and the profiles of these leaders—to continue increasing.
Girls’s college or university basketball isn’t just maintaining pace—it’s location the tempo for the way forward for competitive sports activities.