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NCAAW Women's March Madness Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma are two of college basketball's most successful coaches. How do their programs compare when it comes to money? Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant via Getty Images The University of Connecticut is the only FBS school in the country that spends more money on its basketball programs than on its football team, and it’s not close. Last year, UConn spent more than $34 million on its men’s and women’s basketball teams compared to $20. 5 million on its football team. Advertisement In a college sports world where money is increasingly the reason teams win championships, the Huskies’ return on investment has already been positive. As the men’s and women’s Final Fours tip off this weekend, the UConn women are in Phoenix pursuing their 13th national title in program history, while the men are in Indianapolis going for their third in four years. So, where exactly did that $34 million go? And beyond all the winning, how much is coming back into the athletic department because of these two elite programs? The Athletic examined UConn’s 2025 fiscal year documents, as well as contracts for coaches Geno Auriemma and Dan Hurley, to get a better idea. Investment in the men’s and women’s basketball teams at UConn is a priority, highlighted by the fact that both Auriemma and Hurley are two of the highest-paid coaches in their respective sports. However, unlike many other college basketball programs across the country, the UConn women trail the men by far less, and in some respects, their success is valued even more on campus than the men’s. The men’s team generated $11. 9 million in revenue while the women’s team generated $8. 5 million. This gap is far closer than most other programs nationally. For example, the gap between the South Carolina women, widely considered the other pre-eminent program in women’s college basketball, and its men’s program is much larger: the men brought in $15. 4 million versus $6. 9 million for the women (a difference of about $8. 5 million). On the women’s side, UConn’s $8. 5 million revenue leads the way among Final Four teams and, per Sports Business Journal, it’s nearly double the Huskies’ revenue from 2023. However, on the men’s side, the Huskies trail their Final Four foes in revenue generation by a significant margin. This has to do with a combination of factors, including the fact that UConn doesn’t have a lucrative conference media-rights deal as the Big Ten schools do. Also, other programs bring in significantly more through contributions or ticket sales. During the 2023-24 season, the UConn women’s team became the first women’s basketball program in history to cross the $3 million threshold in ticket sales, which put its ticket revenue ahead of 75 men’s teams at public schools. Advertisement Last year, the program one-upped itself, bringing in $4. 2 million in ticket sales as the program sold out season tickets for the first time in two decades. With 12, 375 fans per game, the UConn women finished third in attendance last season, behind South Carolina and Iowa. Even so, the Huskies still earned more in ticket sales than both of those programs. Per 2025 fiscal year documents, South Carolina generated just more than $2 million in ticket-sales revenue, and Iowa drew nearly $2. 4 million. On the men’s side, UConn brought in $8. 9 million in ticket sales last year and finished 26th in attendance nationally with 12, 992 fans per game. The markets for men’s and women’s college basketball are significantly different. According to USA Today’s men’s basketball coaches’ salary database, 12 men’s basketball coaches made at least $5 million in 2025. No coach in women’s college basketball made more than $5 million this year. That includes UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, who holds records for men’s or women’s basketball with 12 national championships and the most wins. At $3. 54 million annually, Auriemma is the second-highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball behind South Carolina’s Dawn Staley ($4. 25 million). Beyond them, only two other coaches in women’s college hoops earn more than $2 million a year before bonuses: LSU’s Kim Mulkey ($3. 35 million) and Texas’ Vic Schaefer ($2. 3 million). UConn men’s coach Dan Hurley signed an extension in 2024 worth $50 million over six years ($8. 3 million a year) after leading the Huskies to their second consecutive (and sixth overall) national title. He had turned down an offer with the Los Angeles Lakers last year that was a reported $70 million, six-year deal. While that total makes him the highest-paid state employee in Connecticut, he’s still not the highest-paid men’s basketball coach in the country. That honor falls to Kansas coach Bill Self, whose “lifetime” rolling contract is valued at $8. 8 million annually. Advertisement The UConn men’s team also has a significantly larger pool for assistant coaches’ salaries. UConn spent $2, 852, 484 on three men’s team assistants last year, while it spent $1, 744, 179 on four women’s team assistants. Though this is less than the men’s, it’s well compensated compared to other top women’s programs. For example, South Carolina’s assistant pool in 2025 was $1. 8 million, while Texas and UCLA’s assistant pools were both $1. 1 million. UConn might be the only program in the country that pays out more for a national title in women’s basketball than in men’s. For getting to the Final Four, Hurley has already earned a guaranteed $250, 000, and if the Huskies win the national title, he’ll earn an additional $250, 000. Auriemma has also earned $250, 000 for leading his team to the Final Four, but if the women cut down the nets, he’ll earn $675, 000 total. Auriemma also took home $50, 000 for winning the Big East regular season and tournament championships ($25, 000 apiece). The men didn’t achieve those this season, but Hurley would’ve earned $50, 000 for each championship. In total, Hurley’s maximum potential postseason results bonus is $600, 000, while Auriemma’s is $725, 000. The lifeblood of any program is a healthy recruiting pipeline. On the women’s side, even as NIL has changed the landscape, UConn is a premier destination for top recruits out of high school and the transfer portal. Since 2020, the Huskies have signed 12 top 15 recruits (per ESPN. com’s rankings), including three No. 1 recruits — Sarah Strong (2024), Azzi Fudd (2021) and Paige Bueckers (2020). From the portal, Auriemma has added key pieces like Kaitlyn Chen, who started 36 games at point guard, and ahead of this season, Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckel. On the men’s side, Hurley has had three consecutive classes headlined by top 15 recruits, per 247Sports — Braylon Mullins (No. 12 in 2025), Liam Mc Neeley (No. 10 in 2024) and Stephon Castle (No. 9 in 2023). Advertisement In the NIL era, where stacking top 10 recruits has become increasingly rare, even a single top-15 high school recruit can run programs into the seven figures. And given this is the oldest era of college basketball ever, many programs — like UConn — have prioritized high-impact transfers over expansive freshman classes. The Huskies have spent a lot on recruiting for both programs compared to their competitors, though the men’s program spent about a quarter of a million more to restock its team. Part of that is likely because Hurley has had to sign larger classes regularly due to differences in pro eligibility. To leave for the WNBA, players must be 22 or have graduated from college. So, Auriemma’s classes are usually about three players. The men, along with 1-2 high-level high school recruits, regularly sign multiple starting-caliber transfers. Those additions typically cost less overall in recruiting (for multiple visits and other affiliated expenses) but more in revenue-sharing commitments, which aren’t reflected in these numbers because they’re not public. When it comes to the recruiting expenses UConn reports to the NCAA, it’s only for “transportation, lodging and meals for prospective student-athletes and institutional personnel on official and unofficial visits, telephone call charges, postage and such, ” not NIL money or rev-share earmarked for these players. On the women’s side, UConn spent nearly $640, 000 in recruiting expenses in 2025. That total was more than any other Final Four team spent on recruiting last year. Texas spent nearly $390, 000, South Carolina spent almost $290, 000 and UCLA spent just under $250, 000. For recruiting expenses, the UConn men spent just less than $906, 000. In comparison to other Final Four teams, that’s on par with Illinois, which spent about $903, 000 and significantly outpacing Michigan ($656, 000) and Arizona ($468, 000). — Brendan Marks contributed to this report. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Chantel Jennings is The Athletic's senior writer for the WNBA and women's college basketball. She covered college sports for the past decade at ESPN. com and The Athletic and spent the 2019-20 academic year in residence at the University of Michigan's Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalists. Follow Chantel on Twitter @chanteljennings