Kim Mulkey, the coach of defending national champion LSU, has agreed to a 10-year contract worth about $32 million that will set a new mark for the richest coaching contract in women’s college basketball, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because contract details, first reported by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, have not been made public. The deal also still needs approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors, who are scheduled to vote on it Friday.
The Hall of Fame coach has been at LSU for two seasons, during which she has taken a program that missed the NCAA Tournament three seasons ago and elevated it to the pinnacle of its sport.
It was her fourth national title as a head coach — the first three coming at Baylor, where she coached from 2000 to 2021. Her record at LSU in two seasons combined is 50-8, with NCAA Tournament appearances both years.
LSU will return as a national title favorite this coming season, led by power forward Angel Reese and guard Hailey Van Lith, a graduate transfer from Louisville who led the Cardinals in scoring twice in the past three seasons.
Mulkey’s new average annual salary of $3.2 million puts her slightly ahead of the average yearly pay for UConn’s Geno Auriemma, who has won 11 NCAA titles, and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who has won two NCAA titles.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll
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