If Kim Mulkey was a stock, investors would find few, if any, dips in the market that would keep them from going all-in. They would just buy, hold and watch happily while their investment compounded. So, what’s left to do for the Hall of Fame coach? At this point, any further success for Mulkey is cherries on the top of a giant sundae. Three NCAA national championships, a combined 21 Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, achieving 600 career wins faster than any other D1 men’s or women’s coach, and the pinnacle of individual basketball honors – she was named to the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class.
With already an astonishing resume as a player and assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, Baylor hired Mulkey on April 4, 2000, to overhaul a program that had just seven wins in the 1999-2000 season and 13 losing seasons in the previous 17. Little did anyone know, that hire would lay the groundwork for the third act of Mulkey’s career that has outshined the first two.
Mulkey’s Lady Bears became just the third program in NCAA history to have at least three national titles when Baylor beat Notre Dame, 82-81 on April 7, 2019. The victory placed Baylor in the most prestigious of companies, joining UConn and Tennessee as the only programs with at least three. That championship was the fifth that Mulkey had been a part of. At Louisiana Tech, she was the starting point guard when the Lady Techsters won the inaugural NCAA championship in 1982, then she was an assistant coach for another title run in 1988.
Nearly five years to the day that Baylor brought in Mulkey, she delivered the athletics department’s first women’s NCAA title when the Lady Bears’ 22-point victory over Michigan State on April 5, 2005, capped an improbable run that saw BU take down three No. 1 seeds. Seven years later, the Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims-led Lady Bears made history with the first 40-0 season in NCAA history, capped with a win over Notre Dame in the 2012 finals. Keeping with the theme of sevens, Baylor’s Chloe Jackson hit a game-winning scoop layup to down the Fighting Irish in the 2019 title matchup once again with 3.9 seconds remaining.
The COVID-shortened 2019-20 season kept Baylor from defending its national title and its Big 12 Tournament championship, but the Lady Bears collected a 28-2 record, took home their 10th consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship and were a projected No. 1 seed heading into the eventually-cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament.
In addition, Mulkey achieved two significant milestones. On Feb. 18, 2020, in a win at Texas Tech, Mulkey became the fastest Division I coach (men’s or women’s) to reach 600 career victories. She accomplished the feat in 700 games in her 20th season as head coach. Adolph Rupp was second on the list as the Kentucky Hall of Fame men’s coach achieved 600 wins in his 704th game. UConn’s Geno Auriemma was the next-fastest women’s coach to reach 600 wins in his 716th game. Other name-worthy coaches on that list included, Pat Summitt (Tennessee, 734 games), Roy Williams (Kansas & North Carolina, 739 games), John Wooden (Indiana State & UCLA, 755 games), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford, 755 games) and Dean Smith (North Carolina, 773 games).
With the disappointment still looming from a cancelled NCAA Tournament, Mulkey did receive basketball’s highest honor on April 4, 2020, when she was named to the 2020 class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She joined Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Eddie Sutton, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann as a member of the nine-person class. Mulkey had been nominated several times as both a player and a coach, and the Hall took her as a coach. Although the Naismith is the “trump card” for Hall of Fames, Mulkey was able to call herself a Hall of Famer long before her 2020 induction. She has previous inductions into the National High School Hall of Fame (1985), Louisiana High School Hall of Fame (1986), Louisiana Sports Writers Hall of Fame (1990), Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame (1992), Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2000), CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2003), Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame (2007) and Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2010).
Baylor’s entire resume under the guidance of Mulkey deserves admiration, however, her Lady Bears since the 2010-11 season soared to a new stratosphere. The program’s .932 winning percentage in that span is second only to UConn. Eighteen of the Lady Bears’ 21 Big 12 titles have come in that span, including 10 consecutive regular-season championships and eight of the possible nine Big 12 Tournament titles, with the 2020 tournament cancelled due to COVID-19.
Mulkey has also done a phenomenal job of preparing student-athletes for the next level of competition and in life. Of all the Lady Bear players who have started and finished their career at Baylor, those student-athletes have a 100 percent graduation rate. In addition, Baylor has had nine 1st-round draft picks to the WNBA, 19 WNBA draft picks overall, and dozens of Lady Bears who have played professionally overseas.
She is the only person in basketball to have won a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Mulkey is also the only women’s basketball coach, and one of only three in men’s and women’s basketball, to have a national title as a player and head coach, joining Bob Knight and Dean Smith.
Eight times, Mulkey has taken home “National Coach of the Year” honors from various entities, and she has been selected as the Big 12 Coach of the Year eight times. She’s taken home the New York Athletic Club’s Winged Foot Award after each national championship as a head coach.
Mulkey’s Lady Bears have made the NCAA Tournament in 18 of 19 opportunities under her tutelage, they have earned four trips to the NCAA Final Four, nine trips to the Elite Eight, and 14 trips to the NCAA Sweet 16, including 11-straight trips.
Baylor’s first Big 12 Conference championship came in 2005, which led to a Big 12 Tournament Championship and the school’s first NCAA title. Since then, Baylor has swept the regular season and tournament titles in the Big 12 nine times. After a five-year hiatus between regular-season titles, the Lady Bears’ dominance began in 2011 with the first of 10-straight. The Lady Bears have run the table in conference play four times in 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2019. Baylor holds four of the six undefeated regular-season conference seasons in Big 12 history.
Mulkey has coached 19 different All-Americans to 85 honors by various entities, and eight players under her watch have received first-team All-America status by either the Associated Press, USBWA, WBCA or John Wooden selections. She saw Brittney Griner (2012, 2013) and Odyssey Sims (2014) take home the Wade Trophy for the nation’s top college player, Griner won the John Wooden Award in 2012 and 2013 along with the Naismith Trophy in 2012 and 2013 for nation’s top player. Griner won the National Defensive Player, awarded by the WBCA, three-straight seasons from 2011-13, while DiDi Richards took home the award in 2020. Richards also won the National Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2020 from Naismith.
While Baylor can be known for some offensive firepower and star offensive players, Mulkey hangs her hat on defense, and the statistics prove that emphasis. The 2019-20 season marked the fourth-straight year that Baylor led the country in field goal percentage defense. They also ranked first in that category in 2010-11, and save for the 2013-14 season where the Lady Bears ranked 19th in the nation, Baylor hasn’t finished outside of the top five in the last decade. In fact, in only 16 of 705 games since Mulkey took over at Baylor for the 2000-01 season, have the Lady Bears allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better in a game.
Not only has Baylor’s progress registered on the national level, but local fans have taken notice as well. The Lady Bears continue to break all-time attendance records and annually rank among the nation’s Top 25 in NCAA women’s basketball attendance, including nine Top 10 finishes. Baylor ranked a program-high No. 4 in 2012-13, and the Lady Bears have eclipsed the 100,000-fans mark at home for the past 14 seasons. In 2011-12, Baylor drew a Ferrell Center record-breaking 166,593 fans and in 2012-13 set an average attendance record of 9,160 fans per game. Since Mulkey’s arrival, more than 2.1 million fans have come through the Ferrell Center doors.
Mulkey, a 2000 inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, came to Baylor from Louisiana Tech where she spent 19 years as either a student-athlete or coach in the legendary Lady Techster program. During her tenure in Ruston, Mulkey was associated with 11 Final Four squads and three national championship teams. She has either played or coached in the national championship game on eight occasions.
Over her 15-year stint as an assistant and associate head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech posted a 430-68 (.864) record and advanced to seven Final Fours. Mulkey held the title of associate head coach for her final four seasons. Her responsibilities at Tech included coordinating recruiting, tutoring Lady Techster guards, overseeing the players’ academic progress and running the summer camps. Because of her diligence, no Lady Techster was ever declared academically ineligible.
As a player, Mulkey led the Lady Techsters to a 130-6 (.956) record, two national titles and four Final Fours from 1980-84. During that time, the 5-foot-4 playmaker, known for her spectacular passes and French braids, also led Louisiana Tech to its first two national championships (1981 and 1982) and was a part of the USA’s Gold medal-winning team at both the 1984 Olympics and the 1983 Pan American Games.
Mulkey averaged 6.38 assists and 1.56 steals per game and currently ranks second on Tech’s all-time list in assists and 12th in steals.
In addition, the summa cum laude scholar was a two-time Academic All-American as a business major. In recognition of her success in the classroom and on the basketball court, Mulkey was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame in June 2003.
Her athletic career began at an early age. Mulkey, a native of Hammond, La., played Dixie Youth baseball as a 12-year old as well as two years of Pony League baseball and made the all-star team two of the three years. At Hammond High School, she led the basketball team to four-straight state championships, posted a 136-5 record and finished her career with a then-national record 4,075 points. She earned all-district, all-state and All-America honors each of her four years at Hammond High. She also graduated as her class’ valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Mulkey has a street named after her in her hometown of Tickfaw, La.
Mulkey will await an induction ceremony for her selection to the 2020 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The festivities, generally held in Springfield, Mo. in April of each year, were postponed due to COVID-19. She is also a member of the National High School Hall of Fame, the Louisiana High School Hall of Fame, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1999, she was the lone female named among the Louisiana Sports Writers top 25 athletes of the 20th century and was listed by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 50 sports figures of Louisiana for the 20th century. In June of 2000, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame located in Knoxville, Tenn. Additionally, Mulkey was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 and entered the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. Born May 17, 1962, in Santa Ana, Calif., Mulkey has two children, daughter Makenzie (28) and son Kramer (25).
Makenzie (Robertson) Fuller serves as associate director of basketball operations for the Lady Bears. She was a four-year letter winner on Baylor’s basketball team, and during her career the Lady Bears posted an impressive 140-10 record, which included eight Big 12 crowns and an NCAA national championship (2012).
Fuller, a three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, was named to both Baylor’s Dean’s List and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll numerous times. She earned both a bachelor and master’s degree from Baylor and married former Baylor football and professional baseball player Clay Fuller in 2015. The couple had Mulkey’s first grandchild, Kannon Reid Fuller, in 2018.
Kramer attended LSU, where he played for the highly touted Tiger baseball team. He was a first team All-SEC shortstop and second team Louisville Slugger All-American in 2016, and garnered third-team Collegiate Baseball All-American, honorable mention Perfect Game All-American and second-team All-SEC accolades in 2017. After leading LSU back to the College World Series in 2017, which resulted in a runner-up finish, Kramer was selected in the fourth round of the MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. As of 2020, he has played as high as Triple-A, with his most recent action on the franchise’s taxi squad in the COVID-19-shortened season.
Mulkey’s autobiography, “Won’t Back Down” with Peter May, a retired Boston Globe senior sportswriter, appeared in bookstores Nov. 5, 2007, and the paperback edition became available Sept. 8, 2008. She was featured in the 2020 HBO Documentary Women of Troy that featured women’s college basketball in the early 1980s, particularly the University of Southern California and their star, Cheryl Miller.
THE KIM MULKEY FILE
PERSONAL
Born: May 17, 1962
Hometown: Hammond, La.
Children: daughter Makenzie Fuller; son Kramer Robertson
NAMED BAYLOR'S HEAD COACH: April 4, 2000
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COACHING EXPERIENCE
|
| 2000-Present: |
Head Coach at Baylor University |
| 1996-2000: |
Associate Head Coach at Louisiana Tech |
| 1985-1996: |
Assistant Coach at Louisiana Tech |
| |
|
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
|
| 1976-80: |
Four-year letterwinner at Hammond HS in Hammond, La. |
| 1980-84: |
Four-year letterwinner at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La. |
| |
| EDUCATION |
| High School: |
Hammond High School, Hammond, La. |
| College: |
Bachelor, Louisiana Tech University (1984) |
Coaching Records
| Year |
School |
Position |
Record |
Postseason |
| 2020-21 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
28-3 |
NCAA Elite 8 |
| 2019-20 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
28-2 |
Big 12 RS Champ - No postseason due to COVID-19 |
| 2018-19 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
37-1 |
NCAA Champion |
| 2017-18 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
33-2 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2016-17 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
33-4 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2015-16 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
36-2 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2014-15 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
33-4 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2013-14 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
32-5 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2012-13 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
34-2 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2011-12 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
40-0 |
NCAA National Champions |
| 2010-11 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
34-3 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2009-10 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
27-10 |
NCAA Final Four |
| 2008-09 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
29-6 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2007-08 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
25-7 |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2006-07 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
26-8 |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2005-06 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
26-7 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2004-05 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
33-3 |
NCAA National Champions |
| 2003-04 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
26-9 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2002-03 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
24-11 |
WNIT Finals |
| 2001-02 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
27-6 |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2000-01 |
Baylor |
Head Coach |
21-9 |
NCAA First Round |
| 1999-00 |
Louisiana Tech |
Associate Head Coach |
31-3 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1998-99 |
Louisiana Tech |
Associate Head Coach |
30-3 |
NCAA Final Four |
| 1997-98 |
Louisiana Tech |
Associate Head Coach |
31-4 |
NCAA National Runner-Up |
| 1996-97 |
Louisiana Tech |
Associate Head Coach |
31-4 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1995-96 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
31-2 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1994-95 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
28-5 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1993-94 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
31-4 |
NCAA National Runner-Up |
| 1992-93 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
26-6 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1991-92 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
20-10 |
NCAA First Round |
| 1990-91 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
18-12 |
NCAA First Round |
| 1989-90 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
32-1 |
NCAA Final Four |
| 1988-89 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
32-4 |
NCAA Final Four |
| 1987-88 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
32-2 |
NCAA Champions |
| 1986-87 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
30-3 |
NCAA National Runner-Up |
| 1985-86 |
Louisiana Tech |
Assistant Coach |
27-5 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| Louisiana Tech Totals |
|
|
430-68 (.863) |
| Baylor Totals |
|
|
632-104 (.859) |
Player
| 1983-84 |
Louisiana Tech |
30-3 |
NCAA Final Four |
| 1982-83 |
Louisiana Tech |
31-2 |
NCAA National Runner-Up |
| 1981-82 |
Louisiana Tech |
35-1 |
NCAA National Champions |
| 1980-81 |
Louisiana Tech |
34-0 |
AIAW National Champions |
| Louisiana Tech Totals |
|
130-6 (.956) |
Combined Record as Collegiate Player and Assistant Coach:
(19 years) 560-74 (.883)
Record as Head Coach:
(21 years) 632-104 (.859)
HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
- Led the Lady Techsters to a 130-6 record as a player
- During 15-year stint as assistant and associate head coach, Louisiana Tech posted a 430-68 record and advanced to seven Final Fours
1981
- Won Gold medal for South Team at Olympic Festival (Syracuse, NY)
- Won AIAW National Championship
1982
- Member of USA Basketball Select Team
- Won NCAA National Championship.
1983
- Won gold medal at Pan Am Games in Caracus, Venezuela.
- Academic All-American
1984
- NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner
- Academic All-American
- James Corbett Award (Louisiana's College Athlete of the Year)
- Naismith "Small Player of the Year"
- Olympic Gold medalist at Los Angeles games
1985
- Inducted into National High School Hall of Fame
1986
- Inducted into Louisiana High School Hall of Fame
1990
- Inducted into Louisiana Sports Writers Hall of Fame
1992
- Inducted into Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame
1999
- Lone female named among Louisiana Sports Writers top 25 athletes of the 20th century
- Named one of top three assistants by Women's Basketball Journal
- Listed by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 50 greatest Louisiana sports figures of the 20th century
2000
- Named Baylor's fourth head coach
- Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
2001
- Named one of Top 50 Female High School Athletes of the 20th Century
- National Coach of the Year - Real Sport Magazine .
- Big 12 Coach of the Year - Dallas Morning News and Waco Tribune-Herald
2002
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Senior College Coach of the Year
|
2003
- CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame
2004
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Senior College Coach of the Year
2005
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- Winged Foot Award
- Dallas All Sports Association College Coach of the Year
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Senior College Coach of the Year
- Baylor Staff Memeber of the Year (Student Government Association)
2007
- Inducted into Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame
2010
- Inducted into Texas Sports Hall of Fame
2011
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- USBWA National Coach of the Year
2012
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- Winged Foot Award
- AP National Coach of the Year
- USBWA National Coach of the Year
- Naismith National Coach of the Year
- Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year
2013
2015
2017
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Nominee (player and coach)
2018
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- WBCA Regional Coach of the Year
- WBCA National Coach of the Year Finalist
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Finalist (coach)
2019
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- AP, WBCA, USBWA National Coach of the Year
- NY Athletic Club Winged Foot Award
2020
- Big 12 Coach of the Year
- 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame Induction Class selection
|