Highest Paid Women's Basketball Coach
by T Santhosh | Updated Apr 11, 2024
Highest Paid Women's Basketball Coach
In college basketball, it's not just the men's game that attracts large sums of money. Nearly eighteen NCAA women's basketball coaches made their salaries over a million dollars in 2024. Since private schools aren't required to disclose their salary information to the public, the number is probably much higher.
For example, Tara VanDerveer of Stanford was paid $2.2 million in 2016 and probably gets paid even more now. Even after reducing the search to public institutions that reveal yearly salaries, 18 female coaches were earning seven-figure incomes. Women's basketball has improved a lot since Pat Summit's initial salary of $8,900.
The figures used here are from 2023 because the final numbers for the current year will probably be impacted by the coming 2024 NCAA Tournament, since bonuses also play a part in some of these salaries. These are the women's college basketball coaches who are currently recognized as earning the highest salaries.
Top 10 Highest Paid Coaches in Women's Basketball
1
Kim Mulkey
$3.26 million
T-2
Geno Auriemma
$3.1 million
T-2
Dawn Staley
$3.1 million
4
Vic Schaefer
$2.3 million
5
Brenda Frese
$1.88 million
6
Jeff Walz
$1.75 million
7
Joni Taylor
$1,5 million
8
Lisa Bluder
$1.4 million
9
Teri Moren
$1.25 million
10
Adia Barnes
$1.2 million
Rank
Coach
2023-24 total pay
Kim Mulkey
As of right now, LSU's Kim Mulkey is the highest-paid women's college basketball coach. She got in $3.26 million in earnings in 2023–2024. Mulkey rose to fame as a lightning rod for both praise and criticism at Baylor. In 2021, Mulkey switched to LSU. At Baylor, she had three NCAA championships, including a perfect season in 2012.
With a 2023 NCAA championship and a team that is still playing in the tournament, she is 90-13 so far. She is the first coach in the history of NCAA basketball to win national titles in all three of her roles, namely assistant coach, head coach, and player. Mulkey was admitted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. But still, women's coaches are still struggling for pay parity with their male counterparts, even though Mulkey's raise is a great start.
Geno Auriemma
With $3.1 million in annual earnings, Geno Auriemma is one of the top-paid coaches in NCAA women's basketball. With 1,211 games won at Connecticut and 11 NCAA titles, Auriemma is probably the best women's basketball coach in history. It took him until his fourth season to make it to the NCAA Tournament, but he hasn't wasted any time since. Six teams led by Auriemma have won NCAA titles after undefeated seasons.
He is extremely valuable to both his team and the basketball sport. He was selected on April 15, 2009, to lead the USA Basketball Women's National Team in both the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2010 FIBA World Championship in the Czech Republic. From 2009 until 2016, Auriemma served as the head coach of the women's national basketball team for the United States. His team won the World Championship in 2010 and 2014.
Dawn Staley
American Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach Dawn Staley is one of the highest-paid coaches in NCAA women's basketball, with earnings of $3.1 million. Staley is the pride of Philadelphia, and her "take no prisoners" approach makes her the obvious choice for Auriemma as the top coach in the league.
She is an all-time favorite in the current tournament, having won two NCAA titles while playing for South Carolina. She has a 436-106 record at USC and has been to five Final Fours. From 2017 to 2021, Staley led the US women's national team, where she finished with a perfect 45–0 record. On February 22, 2024, Staley won her 600th game out of 786 games (534 at South Carolina).
Vic Schaefer
Vic Schaefer of Texas is the only women's basketball coach to earn more than $2.3 million a year in remuneration. Schaefer gained fame at Mississippi State as he led the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA titles in 2017 and 2018. Schaefer is a graduate of Texas A&M and a resident of Austin, Texas.
He has 409 career victories and is 108-31 at Texas. With Schaefer, Texas has advanced to two Elite Eights and is currently in the Sweet 16. In the NCAA Tournament Final Four, the team of 2016–17 made college basketball history by defeating the top-ranked Connecticut team 66–64 in overtime. On November 25, 2019, Schaefer won his 200th victory as Mississippi State's head coach, a 74-68 win over Marquette.
Brenda Frese
Brenda Sue Frese, the head coach of American women's basketball, was born on April 30, 1970. Her yearly salary is $1.88 million. Prior to taking a job at Maryland in 2002, Frese was the head coach at Ball State and Minnesota for a year. Along with her 2006 NCAA championship with the Terrapins, she made it to two additional Final Fours and four more Elite Eights.
In 2002, Frese received the Coach of the Year award from the US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). In 2012, she captured the ACC Championship, and in 2014, she made it to another Final Four. Frese served as an assistant coach at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, when she got injured as a player at the University of Arizona.
Jeff Walz
The head coach of the women's basketball team, Jeff Walz, makes around $1.75 million a year. In 2007, Louisville acquired Walz as a promising assistant and has retained him ever since. Under Walz, the Cardinals have made appearances in the Final Four and advanced to the national title game twice.
His impressive 464–135 record attests to his academic ability. Louisville and Walz have made twelve trips to the Sweet 16. Walz went to Fort Thomas, Kentucky's Highlands High School. While working as Paul Sanderford's assistant at Western Kentucky, he coached his sister, Jaime Walz, who was honoured as the 1996 Kentucky "Miss Basketball."
Joni Taylor
Texas A&M's head women's college basketball coach, Joni Taylor, was born on March 7, 1979. Her yearly salary is estimated to be over $1.5 million. As head coach, Taylor recently completed her ninth season. At the beginning, she was 140–75 in Georgia. Taylor has never made it past the NCAA Tournament's second round.
Although she is 28-33 at A&M, she did win 19 games this season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Taylor served as an assistant coach at Troy from 2002 to 2005, an associate head coach at Alabama from 2008 to 2010, and an assistant coach at LSU from 2010 to 2011. Taylor, who is 45 years old, is one of the most promising young coaches.
Lisa Bluder
Lisa Bluder has previously been the Drake Bulldogs and St. Ambrose University's coach. She makes about $1.4 million a year. Since 1984, Bluder has served as head coach of the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees. She has attended Iowa since 2000 and has a 525-253 record there.
In her first Final Four, Bluder made it to the national title game last season. Her Hawkeyes just made it to her fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance. Bluder has 882 wins overall, so mentoring Caitlin Clark hasn't limited her coaching skills. Bluder is in her 24th year as the head women's basketball coach at the University of Iowa and her 40th year overall. Bluder was recognized as the Naismith College Coach of the Year on April 6, 2019. She won a blowout victory at Iowa on November 25, 2023, marking her 500th win.
Teri Moren
Teri Moren is the head coach of the Indiana University women's basketball team and earns $1.25 million a year. Moren rose through the ranks, excelling at Indiana State and Indianapolis before earning the Hoosier position. At Indiana, Moren is 225-98 in ten seasons. With a victory, Moren's Hoosiers progressed to the current Sweet 16, marking her third trip there. Under Moren, Indiana made it to the Elite Eight in 2021.
Moren's teams have won numerous titles and honors. Due to her achievements, Moren won the titles of Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year twice and 2023 AP College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 2023, she became the program's most successful coach ever after her Hoosiers emerged victorious in the 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Adia Barnes
Adia Barnes, an American basketball coach and former player, earns $1.2 million a year. She led the Wildcats to the NCAA title game in 2021, but they were defeated by UConn. She was a collegiate athlete at the University of Arizona and played seven seasons for the Houston Comets, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Sacramento Monarchs in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Barnes also participated in international competitions with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine. At Seattle Academy, Barnes became the Director of Player and Coach Development in October 2010. Barnes is one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport, yet she has only won two other NCAA Tournaments since that season.
