Kim Mulkey has been awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her reputation as a dominant coach in college basketball and a strong advocate for grassroots development.
Mulkey began her career as a talented point guard at Louisiana Tech, where she helped her team win national championships in 1981 and 1982. She gained Olympic gold in 1984 and rapidly went into coaching, working as an assistant and later associate head coach at Tech, leading to another national victory in 1988.
Her reputation for greatness was cemented when, in 2000, she took over a faltering Baylor program.
Mulkey transformed Baylor’s culture. She coached the Lady Bears to three NCAA championships (2005, 2012, and 2019), including an unprecedented perfect 40-0 season in 2012, and received many National Coach of the Year awards. She created a culture of accountability that increased the program’s fan base, redesigned home game attendance, and established a legacy of community engagement—holding forums, opening practices, and educating fans about basketball nuances.
Mulkey returned to her home state in 2021 to coach LSU, instantly revamping the program. Within two seasons, she led LSU to its first NCAA national championship in 2023, breaking the school record for the highest-scoring title game. Under her tenure, LSU gained conference distinction for its coaching staff, offensive creativity, and recruiting prowess.
Beyond championship medals and trophies, Mulkey’s greatest legacy is her commitment to growing basketball from the ground up. During her 15-year career at Louisiana Tech, she handled summer camps, academic tutoring, and fan-friendly recruitment activities for young athletes and coaches. Whether sending national championship rings to every coach from her childhood through college.
Funding student tickets for LSU women’s NCAA tournament games allows for widespread campus support. Mulkey has continually shared her accomplishments with her community.
Her Hall of Fame credentials speak volumes: she is the first person to win national titles as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, the fastest to reach 600 wins in Division I history, and will be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2020.
Her coaching philosophy, which emphasizes tough love, player development, academic success, and family values, has produced numerous WNBA stars, Olympians, and role models.
Mulkey accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award, saying, “This is for every coach who believed in me, every young player chasing a dream, and every volunteer pouring their heart into youth basketball.” I stand on the shoulders of giants, and it is my responsibility to lift the next generation.
Kim Mulkey’s career exemplifies the power of combining competitive drive and communal compassion to foster collective success. For years, her influence will be felt on courts ranging from little recreation centers to massive arenas.
Congratulations, Coach Mulkey. Your legacy goes beyond trophies and titles; it includes the people you’ve touched, the fans you’ve educated, and the future you’ve created for women’s basketball.