Why did Kim Mulkey leave Baylor? LSU HC's coaching career explored

Before arriving in Baton Rouge, Kim Mulkey was the head coach of the Baylor Lady Bears, where she was very successful. But why did Mulkey leave Baylor in 2021?

Why did Kim Mulkey leave Baylor?

Kim Mulkey left Baylor after 21 years as the women's basketball head coach. While her reason for leaving has never been explained, Mulkey said she decided to leave Baylor for the LSU job to help her home state. Last year, in an interview on "The Trey Gowdy Podcast," Mulkey said:

"I did not come to LSU because they gave me more money than Baylor. Baylor took care of me financially. It was just a feeling in my gut that said, you need to go help your state."

How successful was Baylor under Kim Mulkey?

Kim Mulkey became the head coach of the Baylor Bears in 2000. At that time, the Bears had just come off a 7-20 season and had never made an appearance in the NCAA Women's tournament. In her first year, Mulkey took them to the NCAA tournament for the first time and improved on their previous season's seven wins, with 21 wins.

In her fifth year with the Bears, Mulkey won not only Baylor's first-ever Big 12 championship, but she took them to the National Championship title, defeating the number two ranked Michigan State Spartans 84-62.

In 2010, Kim Mulkey started a dynasty with the Baylor Bears. They became regulars in the NCAA tournament, normally making at least the Elite Eight stage.

In 2012, Baylor made history, becoming the first-ever college basketball program to win the national championship with an undefeated 40-0 season.

A couple of years later, Mulkey won her third national championship with Baylor, defeating Notre Dame.

However, all things can't last forever, and in 2021, Kim Mulkey decided to leave the program after winning three national championships. She had a record of 632-104 for the

Kim Mulkey at LSU

During her first year with the Tigers, Mulkey improved the fortunes of LSU, going from a nine-win team the year before to a 26-win team that made the second round of the NCAA tournament.

In her second year, Kim Mulkey won her fourth national championship. It was the first-ever national championship for the women's basketball program.

This season, Mulkey is in familiar territory, trying to claim back-to-back national championships. The Tigers were unable to win the SEC championship (unbeaten South Carolina did), but they have made it into the Elite Eight, and Kim Mulkey hopes to make it back to the Final Four.

​

​