LSU's Mulkey signs new contract making her highest paid WBB coach

[broooce]

Sources: LSU, Mulkey agree to record $32M deal

Coach Kim Mulkey, who led LSU to the NCAA title in April, has agreed to terms with the school on a new 10-year contract worth $32 million, sources confirmed to ESPN. The deal will be the richest total contract in women's college basketball history.

www.espn.com

Should Geno get a new contract, too? I believe he and CD should be the highest paid coaches in the women's game.

 

[hoopsfan22]

She deserves it after two national championships with two different teams in two different conferences in the last four tournament seasons.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I'd be curious to know how Connecticut and/or Louisiana taxpayers feel about these salaries. From what I can tell, the LSU AD runs in the green, so arguably they can afford this - overall. But my guess is the LSU women's team is still running a net deficit (especially now), as is the UConn women's team (to say nothing of the UConn AD overall).

I ask this because I'm an alum of both Stanford and Cal (and a California taxpayer), and while I'm comfortable with Stanford spending as much as it wants on athletics, I question how schools like Cal and UCLA hire and fire coaches and churn through so much money on facilities, etc., when the net effect is huge deficits that, directly or indirectly, are borne by taxpayers.

Needless to say, Geno is more than worth his salary in terms of the prestige and recognition he has brought to the UConn women's team. At the same time, it's hard to swallow $2-3m salaries for public employees in states like Connecticut and Louisiana that are both forecasted to have significant deficits and huge unfunded mandates over the next few years. Do taxpayers in CT or LA care, or is this just the "cost of doing business"?

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I'd be curious to know how Connecticut and/or Louisiana taxpayers feel about these salaries. From what I can tell, the LSU AD runs in the green, so arguably they can afford this - overall. But my guess is the LSU women's team is still running a net deficit (especially now), as is the UConn women's team (to say nothing of the UConn AD overall).

I ask this because I'm an alum of both Stanford and Cal (and a California taxpayer), and while I'm comfortable with Stanford spending as much as it wants on athletics, I question how schools like Cal and UCLA hire and fire coaches and churn through so much money on facilities, etc., when the net effect is huge deficits that, directly or indirectly, are borne by taxpayers.

Needless to say, Geno is more than worth his salary in terms of the prestige and recognition he has brought to the UConn women's team. At the same time, it's hard to swallow $2-3m salaries for public employees in states like Connecticut and Louisiana that are both forecasted to have significant deficits and huge unfunded mandates over the next few years. Do taxpayers in CT or LA care, or is this just the "cost of doing business"?

I hear you. Nothing against Geno or any other coach, but, when the top paid employees in a state are coaches, then something needs to be reevaluated. I already feel personally that teachers in the US are severely underpaid. They don't have any banners to hoist or gate receipts, but the reality is they are responsible for supplying countless professionals into the workforce. What's the value on that? Is anyone committed to placing a price tag on that? I doubt it. These are supposed to be academic institutions first and foremost, but they are often described as..."football or basketball" schools. And the term..."student" athlete seems more like a cliche albeit to a lesser degree on the women's' side. It may well be the cost of doing business, but if it leaves you with piles of debt...is it good business?

 

[sun]

I'm happy for Kim & what she brings to LSU WBB because it's good for the sport.
I like her outfits, her press conferences, her drawl & her down to earth demeanor.
And most of all her love & respect for the people of Louisiana.
LSU & WCBB need her because she knows how to build enthusiasm & promote her team, LSU & Louisiana.
She's crafty & she's helping to build a WCBB empire as opposed to other schools that have trouble generating those same results.
She also has history with the LA Techsters & has been able to build on it decades later.
It's phenomenal to see popular culture develop so quickly right before our eyes ever since she arrived at LSU.
She's electrified the whole state behind her & LSU which is really wonderful.
I can hardly wait for UConn to beat them & Kim will be cool about it because that's the way she is.
She's an honorable & dignified southern lady.
LSU should have a Kim Mulkey bobble head doll night.
I'll bet that LSU fans adore her as much as I do.

 

[EdSaid]

Kim dresses better than Geno.

 

[sharris25]

Kim dresses better than Geno.

Dawn makes 3.2 million and her deal which will end in 2027 pays her 3.6 her last year. I have heard that Geno makes 4 million a year and is the highest paid coach and will remain that way. So this is great for Kim but the assertion that this would make her the highest paid wbb coach is slightly off.

 

[Big Fan]

The business model of UConn athletics is not sustainable. Losses every year. And now that they have struck out on being invited to one of the power conferences it's only going to get worse. Other schools like Clemson dropped a significant number of non revenue sports - they plowed that money into football and it got them a national championship. That's not going to happen at UConn. They have tried to cut sports like golf and have gotten so much push back they chickened out. At some point it's going to have to change as they cut into the endowment to pay for it. BTW I believe CD is the highest paid women's basketball assistant by a wide margin. Her salary is nothing to sneeze at either.

 

[Puppy Love]

The problem with valuation of UConn athletics (particularly basketball) is that it leaves out the intangible value of the program. Whether people want to admit it or not, the success men’s and women’s basketball changed the overall value of the university. It isn’t the only thing that improved the school, but it made an impact. Those dollars have been well spent.

 

[LSUAlum96]

Dawn makes 3.2 million and her deal which will end in 2027 pays her 3.6 her last year. I have heard that Geno makes 4 million a year and is the highest paid coach and will remain that way. So this is great for Kim but the assertion that this would make her the highest paid wbb coach is slightly off.

Nope.
Here's a list of the highest paid women's college basketball coaches as of Mar 2023. Geno is at 2.9 million/year, Dawn at 2.7 million/year and Kim at 2.64 million/year. With her new contract, Kim will be over 3.2 million/year.

Who Is The Highest-Paid Women’s College Basketball Coach

Who Is the highest-paid women's college basketball coach? It is LSU's Kim Mulkey, who has won four national titles, including in 2023.

frontofficesports.com

Also..........................................

LSU's Mulkey to ink $32M deal, richest in women's hoops history​

Sources: LSU, Mulkey agree to record $32M deal

Coach Kim Mulkey, who led LSU to the NCAA title in April, has agreed to terms with the school on a new 10-year contract worth $32 million, sources confirmed to ESPN. The deal will be the richest total contract in women's college basketball history.

www.espn.com

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kim, Dawn, and Geno all make about the same per year, a little over $3 million. The big news about Kim's contract is the length (more than Geno's 5 years and Dawn's 7 years) and, hence, the total dollar amount.

 

[JellyBean]

Congrats to Coach Mulkey and LSU WBB. The administration see that they have a solid coach who has created a lot of excitement for the LSU brand. She develops players, recruits well, and has that LSU program on a nice trajectory.

 

[sun]

I came across an article with interesting tidbits about Kim.
It's behind a paywall but I was able to read it by using the internet archive.
It mentions that she never missed a day of school from K - 12th grade, that she was class valedictorian, and that she never had a drop of alcohol or coffee in her life.

LSU's Kim Mulkey talks country music, not dating and more 'real stuff' in BR Classic lunch

Kim Mulkey never missed a day of school from kindergarten through 12th grade. She was the valedictorian of her class. She has never had a drop of alcohol in her

www.theadvocate.com

Internet archive:

Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[TheFarmFan]

I came across an article with interesting tidbits about Kim.
It's behind a paywall but I was able to read it by using the internet archive.
It mentions that she never missed a day of school from K - 12th grade, that she was class valedictorian, and that she never had a drop of alcohol . . . in her life.

LSU's Kim Mulkey talks country music, not dating and more 'real stuff' in BR Classic lunch

Kim Mulkey never missed a day of school from kindergarten through 12th grade. She was the valedictorian of her class. She has never had a drop of alcohol in her

www.theadvocate.com

Internet archive:

Wayback Machine

archive.org

So you're saying all those jackets were picked out in the sober light of day. Wowsa!

 

[BruinGold]

I'd be curious to know how Connecticut and/or Louisiana taxpayers feel about these salaries. From what I can tell, the LSU AD runs in the green, so arguably they can afford this - overall. But my guess is the LSU women's team is still running a net deficit (especially now), as is the UConn women's team (to say nothing of the UConn AD overall).

I ask this because I'm an alum of both Stanford and Cal (and a California taxpayer), and while I'm comfortable with Stanford spending as much as it wants on athletics, I question how schools like Cal and UCLA hire and fire coaches and churn through so much money on facilities, etc., when the net effect is huge deficits that, directly or indirectly, are borne by taxpayers.

Needless to say, Geno is more than worth his salary in terms of the prestige and recognition he has brought to the UConn women's team. At the same time, it's hard to swallow $2-3m salaries for public employees in states like Connecticut and Louisiana that are both forecasted to have significant deficits and huge unfunded mandates over the next few years. Do taxpayers in CT or LA care, or is this just the "cost of doing business"?

I'm not going to speak to how Cal runs things, but UCLA Athletics are supposed to be self-sustaining and NOT dip into taxpayer money. So, when UCLA was faced with a huge athletics deficit after UnderArmour reneged on their contract at the same time as ticket and TV revenue went away due to the pandemic, they were told to "figure it out". That's the main reason why UCLA was on board to jump to the Big 10: there was to be no bailout for athletics from the general fund. So, coaching salaries are largely coming from athletics revenue, company deals, and donations. Athletics and academics have unconnected budgets... at UCLA.

 

[ISUnorth]

Priorities, man, priorities. Louisiana, ranked at the bottom of the country in economy, crime, education, infrastructure and health care, voted $100M to renovate their arena. Governor wanted a new library for LSU but legislature prioritized the arena even though LSU didn't request that for their budget. Seems if the arena was THAT important the athletic department could have funded it via loans and paid it off with revenue and donations.

To paraphrase the ending of the movie Chinatown "Forget it, Jack, it's Louisiana."

Full Bias Disclosure: As an Army Corps of Engineers manager I had my fill of the Corps leadership in Mississippi and the state govt peeps in Louisiana.

 

[Monte]

Raise the ticket prices and give them all MORE MILLIONS OF $$$!

 

[sun]

It's forward thinking for LSU to have a new arena.
It's only a matter of time before they'll be hosting some FF & NC games.
Their current arena only has a capaciity of 13,215.
Baton Rouge is centrally located & would be in competition with the Texas cities of Houston & Dallas.
Its population has grown tremendously over the past 25 years.

From Wikipedia:

At the 2010 U.S. census, the metropolitan area had a population of 802,484, up from 705,973 in 2000. At the 2020 census, its population increased to 870,569, up from 2020 estimates at 858,571.

 

[visitingcock]

It's forward thinking for LSU to have a new arena.
It's only a matter of time before they'll be hosting some FF & NC games.
Their current arena only has a capaciity of 13,215.
Baton Rouge is centrally located & would be in competition with the Texas cities of Houston & Dallas.
Its population has grown tremendously over the past 25 years.

From Wikipedia:

At the 2010 U.S. census, the metropolitan area had a population of 802,484, up from 705,973 in 2000. At the 2020 census, its population increased to 870,569, up from 2020 estimates at 858,571.

That’s a smaller metro area than what the NCAA is hunting for. New Orleans would be more in line for what the NCAA wants.

 

[triaddukefan]

It's forward thinking for LSU to have a new arena.
It's only a matter of time before they'll be hosting some FF & NC games.
Their current arena only has a capaciity of 13,215.
Baton Rouge is centrally located & would be in competition with the Texas cities of Houston & Dallas.
Its population has grown tremendously over the past 25 years.

From Wikipedia:

At the 2010 U.S. census, the metropolitan area had a population of 802,484, up from 705,973 in 2000. At the 2020 census, its population increased to 870,569, up from 2020 estimates at 858,571.

There is a better chance of Beyonce getting a divorce and marrying me then Baton Rouge ever hosting a Final Four.

 

[maple]

I'd be curious to know how Connecticut and/or Louisiana taxpayers feel about these salaries.

I am not a taxpayer in CT, but my parents are. Paying Geno (and Hurley for the men, previously JC) are probably the only things they'd consider the state spends money wisely on. Can't argue with sustained excellence and incredible brand strength.

 

[sun]

There is a better chance of Beyonce getting a divorce and marrying me then Baton Rouge ever hosting a Final Four.

You're probably right.
But with a metro area population of 559,000, Greenville which was a regional host for March Madness is stil much smaller than Baton Rouge.
LSU's new arena can also host other competitions for volleyball & gymnastics.
Most of all it will be able to accomodate the growing number of LSU BB fans.

 

[visitingcock]

You're probably right.
But with a metro area population of 559,000, Greenville which was a regional host for March Madness is stil much smaller than Baton Rouge.
LSU's new arena can also host other competitions for volleyball & gymnastics.
Most of all it will be able to accomodate the growing number of LSU BB fans.

Greenville’s metro population is 959k and next-door is Spartanburg with another 330k. I have no idea why they are considered separated metros since are adjoining counties

Metropolitan statistical area - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[sun]

Greenville’s metro population is 959k and next-door is Spartanburg with another 330k. I have no idea why they are considered separated metros since are adjoining counties

Metropolitan statistical area - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

If you click to see the square mileage of the Baton Rouge vs Greenville metro areas, you'll fimd that Greenville covers over 6K square miles while Baton Rouge only covers 4K square miles.
If Baton Rouge was 6K square miles it would include part of the New Orleans metro area which is adjacent to it.
Baton Rouge is the capitol city of Louisiana & the city proper is over 3 times larger than Greenville proper.
Baton Rouge itself is the 36th largest city in the US.

It's ludricrous for folks to criticize Lousiiana for deciding to build a new arena for LSU when they just extended Kim's contract for 10 years with the intention of building a national powerhouse for years to come.
It's good for WBB yet for some reason Lousiiana is being criticized for it.
If LSU is able to fill it with fans & it's good for WBB then that's all that matters.
Louisiana should be commended for building it, & they don't want to be outdone by their SEC & state rivals.
I'll be tckled pink when UConn WBB gets to play in it, & it will probably be nationally televised & more UConn fans will be able to flock there to enjoy it.