Kim Mulkey has never been the kind of coach or personality that slips quietly into the shadows of basketball history. Her name is carved deep into the annals of the women’s game, not only because of her championships but also because of her fire, her personality, and her insistence on excellence wherever she goes. The title “legendary at every stop” could not be more fitting for her career. From her days as a point guard at Louisiana Tech to her coaching dynasty at Baylor, and now her era-defining tenure at LSU, Mulkey has consistently found herself at the center of greatness. It seems almost poetic that once again she finds herself preparing to clash with her alma mater, Louisiana Tech, a place where her basketball roots were planted, where her competitive fire was forged, and where the trajectory of her historic career first began.
When Kim Mulkey played for Louisiana Tech in the early 1980s, women’s basketball was still fighting for recognition on a national scale. Title IX had opened doors, but the sport did not yet have the glitz, the television coverage, or the cultural weight it holds today. Mulkey, a diminutive yet ferocious point guard, quickly became one of the faces that gave the game credibility and national attention. She wasn’t just a player; she was a floor general with unmatched instincts, a gritty competitor who refused to be intimidated, and a leader whose influence extended beyond the hardwood. In 1981, Mulkey led Louisiana Tech to the AIAW national championship. Just one year later, in 1982, she became part of the first NCAA women’s basketball championship team, again with Louisiana Tech. Those moments were pivotal not just for her career but for women’s basketball as a whole, helping establish the Lady Techsters as a powerhouse and Mulkey as an icon in the making.
The connection between Mulkey and Louisiana Tech runs deeper than championships. Ruston, Louisiana, became her proving ground. It was the environment where she learned discipline, toughness, and the meaning of tradition. The Lady Techsters weren’t just a team; they were a standard of excellence in women’s basketball during the 1980s, producing legends and setting the bar for others to follow. Mulkey absorbed it all and added her own uncompromising spirit to the legacy. To this day, she remains one of the most celebrated players in the program’s storied history.
Yet, for all the glory she experienced at Louisiana Tech, Mulkey’s story was just beginning. After her playing career, she moved into coaching, first as an assistant at her alma mater. It didn’t take long for people to realize that her fiery personality and basketball IQ translated seamlessly from the floor to the sidelines. She helped Louisiana Tech maintain its prominence, serving as an assistant coach on teams that reached Final Fours and competed for national titles. Still, there was always a sense that Mulkey’s destiny was to be the face of her own program, to build something she could shape entirely. That opportunity came at Baylor in 2000, a program that was languishing at the bottom of the Big 12 with no real identity.
The rest, as they say, is history. Over the next two decades, Mulkey turned Baylor into a women’s basketball juggernaut. She won three national championships with the Lady Bears, in 2005, 2012, and 2019, and created a culture of toughness, accountability, and relentless pursuit of victory. Her teams were disciplined but never passive, mirroring her sideline demeanor. Opponents knew that when they faced Mulkey’s Baylor, they were up against a squad that would never yield, never relax, and never stop pressing the advantage. Her signature style—loud, expressive, sometimes polarizing—made her one of the most recognizable coaches in sports, and her results made her a Hall of Famer.
But even legends know when it is time for a new chapter. In 2021, Mulkey shocked the basketball world by leaving Baylor to take the head coaching position at LSU. The move was seismic not just because of what she was leaving behind, but because of what she was stepping into. LSU had the resources, the brand, and the potential, but its women’s basketball program had been stagnant for years. Mulkey didn’t just want a new challenge; she wanted to bring championship basketball back to her home state. It was a homecoming of sorts, not to Ruston, but to Louisiana. And she delivered almost instantly. In just her second season, Mulkey led LSU to its first NCAA women’s basketball championship in 2023, cementing her place in the sport’s pantheon and adding yet another chapter to her legendary career.
Now, the storyline of Kim Mulkey facing Louisiana Tech once again takes on layers of meaning. These games are never just about basketball; they are about legacy, identity, and the passage of time. For Mulkey, every clash with Louisiana Tech is more than just another date on the schedule. It is a reminder of where she came from, of the hardwood floors where she learned to dribble and defend, of the long practices under coaches who demanded nothing less than perfection, and of the bonds she built with teammates who shared in those championship runs. There is always a bittersweet element in competing against one’s alma mater. On one hand, there is immense pride in seeing the program still fighting, still representing the tradition she helped build. On the other hand, there is the responsibility of leading her current team to victory, even if that means dealing a painful loss to the school that gave her so much.
Louisiana Tech, of course, is no stranger to this storyline either. For decades, they have embraced their reputation as the cradle of legends, the birthplace of stars who go on to define the sport. Facing Kim Mulkey is facing one of their own, someone who embodies the best of what the Lady Techsters were at their peak. It is both an honor and a daunting task. Players on today’s Louisiana Tech team may not have been alive during Mulkey’s championship years as a player, but they know her story. They know they are facing not just another coach, but a living chapter of their program’s history. That awareness adds weight to every pass, every rebound, and every possession when the two sides meet.
For fans, the Mulkey-Louisiana Tech matchup is a celebration of continuity and change in women’s basketball. It is a reminder of how far the sport has come since the early 1980s, when Mulkey was leading the Lady Techsters to national titles in front of modest crowds and limited television exposure. Today, women’s basketball is thriving, drawing record audiences, inspiring young athletes, and proving that it deserves a prominent place in the sports conversation. Mulkey has been part of that transformation every step of the way, first as a player, then as an assistant coach, and now as one of the most successful head coaches in NCAA history. To see her back on the same court as her alma mater is to see the full arc of women’s basketball, from its gritty beginnings to its current prominence.
But beyond the nostalgia, there is always the competition. Mulkey doesn’t approach games sentimentally, and her LSU teams don’t play with one eye on history. They play to win, to dominate, to set the tone for March and beyond. That is what makes her who she is. Facing Louisiana Tech is special, but it is also a test. Will her Tigers execute with the same discipline that has made them national champions? Will they embrace the responsibility of carrying on Mulkey’s standard of excellence, even when facing the school that birthed it? These are the questions that animate the matchup.
Kim Mulkey’s life and career illustrate the idea that greatness is not bound by geography. She was legendary as a player at Louisiana Tech, legendary as a builder at Baylor, and now legendary as a redeemer at LSU. Few figures in sports can claim that kind of consistency across multiple decades, programs, and roles. Yet, at the core of it all is the same fierce competitor who once wore the Louisiana Tech jersey. Every time she faces her alma mater, that competitor emerges again, reminding everyone that the legend of Kim Mulkey is as much about the fire that still burns within her as it is about the trophies and banners she has collected.
The clash with Louisiana Tech is not just another game. It is a reunion, a history lesson, and a celebration of how far women’s basketball has come. It is about honoring the past while continuing to forge the future. For Kim Mulkey, it is another chance to prove what she has always known—that excellence is not a phase but a way of life, one that she has embodied at every stop of her journey.
