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Kim Mulkey is set to sign a new 10-year, $32 million contract extension to remain as the coach of the LSU women's basketball team. Mulkey led the Tigers to their first NCAA championship last season and will look to repeat next year.
Reed Darcey of The Advocate first reported the news after obtaining a public records request about it on Wednesday. Mulkey's deal will be the richest in women's college basketball history, surpassing the contracts signed by Geno Auriemma of UConn in 2020 and Dawn Staley of South Carolina in 2021.
Mulkey's extension will overlap with her contract that was supposed to run through 2027. She's set to earn $2.75 million in the first year of the deal, which will increase yearly until it reaches $3.65 million in the final season.
According to ESPN, the deal has not been finalized and will have to be approved by LSU's board of supervisors in a meeting on Friday. With Kim Mulkey's success since taking over the program, her contract extension should go through.
It should be noted that Mulkey's annual salary will be $3.2 million, which will also a new record. Geno Auriemma earns an estimated $3 million per year after signing a five-year, $15 million deal with UConn signed in 2020.
Meanwhile, Dawn Staley also earns around $3 million per year after signing a seven-year, $22.7 million contract with South Carolina in 2021. Auriemma has 11 NCAA championships; Staley has 2 NCAA titles, while Mulkey won her fourth one last season.
Kim Mulkey adds Hailey Van Lith for next season
Kim Mulkey will have a new weapon to add to LSU's already loaded roster next season. Louisville's Hailey Van Lith entered the transfer portal in April and chose to join the defending NCAA champions.
In an interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks in June, the 21-year-old guard discussed her transfer from Lousiville to LSU. She explained that it was difficult to leave the Cardinals, but she needed to make the jump to help her career.
She was in Louisville for three seasons but transferred to LSU as a graduate student.
"It came down to my ability to be happy, and I had to put myself first," Van Lith said. I had done my part, and I had sacrificed myself and given my all to that program.
"But at the end of the day, I just wasn't enjoying everyday life. It was a situation there where I chose that I deserve happiness."
