South Carolina’s Dawn Staley Becomes Highest-Paid Coach In Women’s College Basketball At $4.25 Million

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley Becomes Highest-Paid Coach In Women’s College Basketball At $4.25 Million

Dawn Staley just added another major title to her résumé — the highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball.

According to USA TODAY Sports, the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball icon will earn $4.25 million for the 2025–26 season, officially putting her ahead of every other women’s college basketball coach in the country. The salary bump is part of the five-year agreement she signed in March 2025, with her pay set to increase by $250,000 annually through 2030.

The historic payday comes after yet another dominant season in Columbia. Under Staley, South Carolina has now won three national championships, reached eight Final Fours, and just made its sixth straight trip to the national semifinals, where the Gamecocks beat UConn Huskies women’s basketball before falling to UCLA Bruins women’s basketball in the title game.

Her compensation now tops coaching giants like Geno Auriemma ($3.79 million), Kim Mulkey ($3.35 million), and Vic Schaefer ($2.3 million), while also eclipsing the salaries of at least seven men’s public-school SEC coaches.

And the résumé behind the check speaks for itself: 10 SEC regular-season titles, 683 Division I wins, three Olympic gold medals, six WNBA All-Star appearances, and Hall of Fame status. At this point, Staley isn’t just coaching greatness — she’s being paid like the empire builder she is.