The 2025-26 basketball season is in the books, and with it, the coaching carousel has mostly stopped spinning, too. Several raises were earned by top targets, so the head coaching salaries have shifted already.
But USA TODAY provided a list of the head coaching salaries during the 2025-26 season. It’s a great point of comparison, even though, as noted, some coaches have now received raises and extensions.
A few points of order. First, we have compiled the top 25 head coach salaries below. We are pulling from the “Total Pay” for each coach, though USA TODAY does list other compensation — particularly bonuses available. Many coaches hit several incentive-based bonuses; those figures are not included in the numbers below.
Second, what stands out is the investment two of the power conferences have made. Of the top 25 head coach salaries, nine hailed from the SEC, while eight were from the Big Ten. That’s almost 70% of the 25 highest-paid coaches coming from two conferences.
Anyway, let’s dive into the top head coach salaries below. We’ll provide a little background on some of the top coaches.
The highest-paid coach in college basketball was a bit of a question mark going into this offseason. Following some health challenges that cropped up ahead of and during the 2025-26 season, some wondered if Self might retire.
He opted not to, coming back to Kansas for at least another season. In 223 seasons at Kansas, Self has won 634 games. He sports a .792 overall winning percentage with the Jayhawks.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Winner of two of the last four national titles, with a third appearance in this year’s championship game, few are as hot as Hurley. He has figured out the winning formula and the Huskies just keep winning.
Hurley just wrapped up his eighth season in charge of the Huskies. After failing to make the NCAA Tournament in his first season, he has now been to the Big Dance six straight times… with three incredibly deep runs.
Calipari left Kentucky two years ago, a move that stunned many in the college basketball world. But he’s making it work, having led Arkansas to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
Can Calipari push the envelope even further in Fayetteville? That will be the goal, commanding one of the top head coach salaries. The trajectory is upward, too: from 22 wins to 28 wins over the last two years.
Just about nobody has enjoyed the kind of longevity Izzo has. And the sheer consistency is staggering. He just keeps producing.
You have to go back all the way to 2015-16 to find the last time the Spartans didn’t win an NCAA Tournament game. And you have to go back all the way to 1996-97, Izzo’s second season, to find a year where they missed the Big Dance altogether. Timeless.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Just completing his 11th year at Tennessee, Barnes is on a remarkable run. He has won a tournament game in five straight seasons, while reaching the Sweet 16 each of the last four years and the Elite Eight each of the last three years.
Barnes can’t quite seem to break over the hump to reach the Final Four with the Vols, but get there enough times and eventually the dam will break. Barnes is now at 861 wins all-time.
One of the reported targets for the North Carolina job, Golden and Florida came out pretty quickly with an announcement on an extension and a possible raise. Details have not yet been made public.
In any case, Golden figures to remain one of the sport’s highest-paid coaches after winning the 2024-25 national title. In four years at Florida, he has won 103 games.
If you’re looking for potential outliers on the head coach salaries list, Beard starts to stick out just a touch. He has had success with the Rebels, but the overall trajectory isn’t necessarily clear.
Beard won 20 games in Year 1, 24 games in Year 2 (with a Sweet 16 appearance), then fell to 15 wins in Year 3. Can Beard bounce back with a big season in 2026-27?
Alabama coach Nate Oats (Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)
Another of the coaches who was a reported target for North Carolina, Oats also agreed to an extension and a raise. He will reportedly be in the top five of head coach salaries in 2026-27.
Alabama has reached the Sweet 16 in five of the last six seasons under Oats, with the program’s first trip to the Final Four in 2023-24. The Crimson Tide have averaged 27.3 wins per season over the last four years.
The coach at Houston now for the last 12 years, Sampson has upped his game considerably since COVID-19 struck. Houston has won 30 or more games in five straight seasons.
Meanwhile, the Cougars have reached the Final Four twice, the Elite Eight three times and the Sweet 16 in each of the last six seasons. Few can match that kind of top-level and tournament success.
The long-time Gonzaga assistant has had no trouble translating his success to head coaching. Arizona has been elite since he’s been there, winning at least 24 games in every season and reaching at least the Sweet 16 in four of five seasons so far.
Lloyd was also a top target for the Tar Heels. He agreed to a contract extension and raise that will put him at $7.2 million next season, averaging $7.5 million over the life of his deal. So he’ll be moving up this list considerably next year.
Rest of the Top 25 Head Coach Salaries
Scott Drew, Baylor – $5.47 million
Brad Underwood, Illinois – $5.40 million
Mark Pope, Kentucky – $5.25 million
Sean Miller, Texas – $5.06 million
Matt Painter, Purdue – $4.98 million
Buzz Williams, Maryland – $4.88 million
Mick Cronin, UCLA – $4.50 million
Chris Jans, Mississippi State – $4.40 million
Jamie Dixon, TCU – $4.37 million
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska – $4.35 million
Darian DeVries, Indiana – $4.33 million
TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State – $4.30 million
Mike Rhoades, Penn State – $4.23 million
Dennis Gates, Missouri – $4.20 million
Shaka Smart, Marquette – $4.09 million