Tennessee hires Marshall's Kim Caldwell as next head women's basketball coach

The search for the next head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team is over. Tennessee announced it is hiring Kim Caldwell to be its next women’s basketball coach.

In the press release for the hiring, athletic director Danny White praised Kim Caldwell as the ‘ideal’ person to lead the Lady Vols.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to find a dynamic head coach who can restore our women’s basketball program to national prominence. Kim Caldwell is the ideal person to lead us,” White said. “Kim has a winning formula that she has successfully implemented everywhere she has coached, with a fast-paced, high-octane offense and pressure defense that has led to remarkable results.”

Kim Caldwell has been named head coach of the storied Lady Vols Basketball program.

Welcome to Rocky Top @CoachKim_!

— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) April 7, 2024

“In this new era of college sports, it was vital that we found an innovative head coach with a strong track record of winning titles,” White said. “We are eager to return the Lady Vols to a championship level, and we’re confident that Kim Caldwell is the coach who can lead us back to the top.”

Caldwell was previously the head coach at Marshall. There, in one season, she led the Thundering Herd to a 26-7 record and won the Sun Belt regular season and conference tournament. In the Women’s NCAA Tournament, Marshall lost in the first round to Virginia Tech.

Prior to her time at Marshall, Kim Caldwell was the head coach at Glenville State, a Division II program and her alma mater. She spent seven seasons there, compiling an overall record of 191-24. She also won a national championship during her time there.

Caldwell is a West Virginia native who has spent the vast majority of her career working in the state. She also has stops at Ohio Valley and Sacramento State as an assistant coach.

According to Volquest, Kim Caldwell’s contract with Tennessee is going to run through  March 31, 2029. It will pay her $750,000. Tennessee is also paying a $600,000 buyout to Marshall. Within her contract, Caldwell will receive incentives of $60,000 for winning the SEC in the regular season, $30,000 for winning the SEC Tournament, $25,000 for making the Women’s NCAA Tournament, and $400,000 for winning a national championship.

“I am honored and humbled to accept the role as head coach of this historic program at the University of Tennessee,” Caldwell said. “I can’t help but reflect on accepting the Pat Summitt Trophy three seasons ago and be moved by the great responsibility and opportunity of now leading and building upon the incredible Lady Vol tradition she built. I am so excited to get to work and can’t wait to see what we all can accomplish together.”

Caldwell replaces Kellie Harper, becomes 3rd Lady Vols coach since Pat Summitt

Kim Caldwell is replacing Kellie Harper, who spent five seasons as the head coach at Tennessee after being an incredibly successful player in Knoxville during her playing career. In all seasons where the postseason was held, Harper led the Lady Vols to the Women’s NCAA Tournament, including to two Sweet Sixteen appearances. However, the schools decided to move on from her after getting knocked out in the second round of the 2024 tournament.

The Tennessee women’s basketball program is one of the most storied programs in the sport. That’s largely due to the success of legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who won eight national championships and 1,098 games over the course of her career.

Summitt’s legacy is imprinted on the Lady Vols and living up to the standard she set is very difficult, with good teams still falling short of the success Tennessee had under Summitt.

There have been two coaches at Tennessee since Pat Summitt retired from coaching. First, Holly Warlick led the program for seven seasons after both playing for and being a long-time assistant under Summitt. She made the Women’s NCAA Tournament in each of her seven seasons. However, after never getting past the Elite Eight and seeing the program take a step back, she was fired in 2019.

By the time she retired, Pat Summitt had an .841 winning percentage. Holly Warlick had a .720 winning percentage and Kellie Harper had a .675 winning percentage. Now, Kim Caldwell will look to find a way to get the Tennessee Lady Vols back to the top of women’s college basketball.