Women of all ages’s higher education basketball has seen exponential development in viewership, expertise, and competitiveness in the last 10 years. Using the greater popularity and industrial good results on the Activity, particularly in NCAA Division I packages, coaching salaries have risen to mirror the value and leadership these best-tier coaches carry to their teams and universities. As universities continue to speculate of their Gals’s athletics departments, some standout coaches are reaping the money rewards that come with building powerhouse courses.
In this article’s a consider the five highest-compensated Girls’s university basketball coaches as of 2025, showcasing not just their impressive salaries but will also the achievements that justify their elite payment.
1. Dawn Staley – College of South Carolina
Estimated Once-a-year Salary: $three.1 million
Dawn Staley proceeds to get the gold regular in women’s faculty basketball coaching. A former WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, Staley has crafted South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. Since taking up This system in 2008, she has led the Gamecocks to a number of NCAA Last 4 appearances and two national championships (2017 and 2022).
In 2021, she designed headlines by signing a historic 7-12 months, $22.four million contract, earning her the highest-compensated Black head coach in Girls's college basketball heritage. That offer has given that been restructured and prolonged with efficiency incentives, positioning her firmly at the top of this listing.
two. Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Approximated Yearly 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 started in 1985, has remodeled This system into one of the most dominant dynasties in higher education basketball record—Males's or Girls’s.
Auriemma’s longevity and dependable overall performance have ensured worthwhile deal renewals. His present-day deal features a foundation income, media obligations, apparel offers, and hefty bonuses tied to NCAA Tournament runs. Although UConn has faced modern troubles with accidents and roster turnover, Auriemma’s legacy and Management hold his price significant.
three. Kim Mulkey – Louisiana Condition College (LSU)
Approximated Yearly Salary: $2.seven million
After A prosperous two-ten years operate at Baylor, wherever she gained 3 nationwide titles, Kim Mulkey shocked the basketball world by joining LSU in 2021. In only her 2nd period Together with the Tigers, she led them into a 2023 national championship, bringing a brand new level of pleasure and Highlight to Baton Rouge.
Her large-profile arrival came with a valuable eight-yr, $23.6 million deal, generating her among the highest-compensated Girls’s coaches ever. Noted for her passionate coaching model, flamboyant trend, and championship pedigree, Mulkey is central to LSU’s resurgence in Ladies's hoops.
four. Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
Believed Yearly Wage: $1.four million
Brenda Frese has quietly created a model of regularity at Maryland given that taking on in 2002. With a number of conference championships, a countrywide title in 2006, and dozens of NCAA Tournament appearances, Frese has saved the Terrapins in nationwide rivalry for over twenty years.
Her extended-time period effect and development of top rated-tier talent have designed her indispensable to Maryland’s athletic department. Her latest deal incorporates bonuses for academic effectiveness, wins, and postseason achievement—illustrating her twin determination to athletics and pupil enhancement.
5. Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
Approximated Once-a-year Salary: $1.3 million
Tara VanDerveer is don't just certainly one of the very best-compensated coaches but also the winningest coach in NCAA Girls's basketball record. She surpassed Pat Summitt’s all-time get file and it has led Stanford to 3 countrywide titles (1990, 1992, and 2021) and numerous Last Four appearances.
When VanDerveer hasn't been 1 to chase flashy M88 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 place among the all-time greats in coaching background.
A Shifting Landscape in Gals's Basketball
The increasing salaries of these coaches are reflective of the expanding acceptance and money viability of ladies’s faculty basketball. Courses are attracting extra countrywide Television set promotions, ticket gross sales are expanding, and company sponsors have gotten additional invested in Gals's athletics.
The rise in coaching salaries is not just an indication of development—it’s a recognition on the labor, leadership, and success these coaches convey for their packages as well as the sport in general.
Honorable Mentions
Even though these five coaches currently guide the best way with regards 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 built major strides with their respective plans and will split into the top rated five in the approaching a long time as women's basketball carries on to grow.
Closing Ideas
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, condition the tradition in their universities, and elevate Ladies’s basketball to new heights. As being the sport carries on to mature in popularity and aid, we are able to hope these salaries—plus the profiles of such leaders—to carry on climbing.
Gals’s college or university basketball isn’t just keeping tempo—it’s setting the pace for the way forward for aggressive athletics.