Dawn Staley has transformed South Carolina into one of the most recognizable brands and dominant programs in women’s basketball since being hired in 2008.
During her reign in Columbia, the Gamecocks have won three national championships and are coming off appearing in their eighth Final Four. Staley’s trip to Phoenix this past weekend — where the Gamecocks defeated UConn in the semifinals but fell to UCLA in the national title game — was South Carolina’s sixth consecutive trip to the national semifinals.
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And for all the success she’s led the Gamecocks too, she’s paid incredibly well for it.
Better than any other coach in women’s college basketball. And more than many prominent men’s coaches.
According to her contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Staley’s compensation for the 2025-26 season increased to $4.25 million as part of a five-year agreement signed in March of 2025. Her annual pay before performance bonuses will increase by $250,000 each year through 2030.
The other four coaches directly behind Staley in annual compensation for this season are are annual contenders for national championships. UConn’s Geno Auriemma made $3.79 million, LSU’s Kim Mulkey’s compensation for the year was $3.35 million, Vic Schaefer of Texas checked in at $2.3 million, and 2006 national title winner Brenda Frese was paid more than $2 million at Maryland.
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Staley is also paid higher than at least seven public-school men’s coaches in the SEC, including South Carolina’s Lamont Paris and Will Wade, according to the term sheet released by LSU after his hiring in March.
A seven-time SEC Coach of the Year and four-time national coach of the year, Staley has led South Carolina to 10 regular season SEC titles. After starting her coaching career at Temple in 2000 — while she was still starring in the WNBA — she’s 19th all-time in career victories amongst Division I coaches with 683, trailing Frese by five wins.
As a player, Staley steered Virginia to three Final Fours in the early 1990s, was a two-time National Player of the Year, won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA, and was a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina’s Dawn Staley leads women’s basketball coaches salaries
