Kim Mulkey shares emotions of winning national championship for home state

Kim Mulkey is now a four-time NCAA Division I Tournament champion, but the latest of the bunch may mean more than anything.

Before taking her talents to LSU to lead the Tigers, Mulkey was revered for her work with the Baylor Bears. From 2000 to 2021, she led Baylor to a 632-104 record, including three titles, but Louisiana was always in her heart. So when the opportunity to return to the state and takeover the premier program arose, Mulkey took it, and it’s paying off in spades.

After leading the Tigers to a title-clinching victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, Mulkey explained how special it was to go from playing high school basketball in Tickfaw, to winning a national title as the leader of LSU.

“With about 1:30 to go, I couldn’t hold it. I got very emotional. That’s really not like me until the buzzer goes off, but I knew we were going to hold on and win this game,” stated Mulkey. “I don’t know if it’s the mere fact that we’re doing this in my second year back home. I don’t know if it was the fact that I am home. I don’t know if it was looking across there at my daughter and my grandchildren. I don’t know if it was looking across at LSU. I don’t know what it was, but I lost it.

“So that should tell you what I think about it. Very, very emotional and tears of joy.”

As you can see, the entire moment was supremely special for Mulkey, as the Tigers couldn’t be happier to have her. Thankfully, she added she’s not going anywhere, anytime soon, as she’ll coach LSU for as long as they’ll have her.

“Well, I don’t ever put a timetable on coaching,” started Mulkey. “I was never going to be a coach. I got talked into it by the president of Louisiana Tech University, Dr. F.J. Taylor. He started the program over there, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

“Thank God he didn’t. He knew more what I was supposed to be doing than I did.”

That’s great news for LSU fans, as the Tigers look primed to do some more winning under Mulkey’s guidance.

Kim Mulkey has accomplished everything there is to do as a coach, and she’ll be one of the all-time greats when she hangs it up, but she’s simply readying for the next challenge as the leader of the LSU Tigers moving forward.