Breaking: LSU Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey Drops Shocking Announcement Live
BATON ROUGE, LA – The LSU Tigers athletic department was rocked to its core on Thursday, as a hastily arranged press conference featuring Hall of Fame basketball coach Kim Mulkey turned from a anticipated season preview into a seismic moment for the sport. In a stunning announcement broadcast live from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Mulkey, the flamboyant and fiercely competitive architect of LSU’s rapid return to glory, revealed that she will be stepping down as head coach effective immediately.
The news sends shockwaves through collegiate athletics, coming just months after she led the Tigers to the 2023 NCAA National Championship and less than a year after signing a landmark 10-year, $36 million contract extension. The decision, described by Mulkey as the most difficult of her life, is for family reasons.
“They say in life that God has a plan, and sometimes that plan is clearer than others,” Mulkey began, her signature resolve tempered by visible emotion. She was flanked by a somber LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward and members of her staff. “For 40 years, my plan has been basketball. It has been my identity, my passion, my life. But a calling even greater than coaching has emerged, and I must answer it. My family needs me now, fully and completely, in a way that the 24/7 demands of this job simply do not allow.”
Mulkey did not elaborate on the specific family health matter, asking for privacy but stating that her “presence is required at home to support a loved one through a significant challenge.” She emphasized that this is a retirement from coaching, not a step to another program or a temporary leave of absence.
“This is not a sabbatical. This is not a negotiation. This is a final decision,” she stated firmly. “When I commit to something, I commit fully. I cannot give this program and these incredible young women the energy they deserve while my heart and my duty are pulled elsewhere. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not true to myself.”
The announcement is a monumental blow to an LSU program that Mulkey resurrected from mediocrity to a national powerhouse in just two seasons. A Louisiana native, her hiring in 2021 was hailed as a homecoming triumph. She delivered on that promise almost instantly, capturing the national championship in her second year behind the superstar play of Angel Reese and a brand of basketball that was as entertaining as it was effective. Her career record of 740-140 makes her one of the winningest coaches in the history of the sport.
LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward, who orchestrated Mulkey’s hiring away from Baylor, looked shell-shocked as he addressed the media.
“This is a profound loss for LSU, but it is first and foremost a moment to support Kim Mulkey, the person,” Woodward said. “We hired Kim not just because she is a winner—and my God, is she a winner—but because of her character and her deep ties to this state. That same character is what guides her decision today. While we are heartbroken, we respect and admire her unwavering commitment to family. Her legacy here, though shorter than any of us hoped, is eternal. She brought us a championship and restored the roar to Lady Tigers basketball.”
The practical implications of the announcement are chaotic. With the season just weeks away, the university must now scramble to find a new leader for a team with championship aspirations and a roster filled with high-profile talent. Woodward announced that Associate Head Coach Daphnee Lee, a trusted lieutenant who followed Mulkey from Baylor, will serve as the interim head coach while a national search commences “immediately.”
The reaction from the basketball world was instantaneous and emotional. Former Baylor star and WNBA great Brittney Griner posted on social media: “Coach Mulkey is a force of nature. She taught me how to be tough, how to be a champion. Family first, always. Sending all my love and prayers to her and her family.”
Current LSU players, who were informed in a private team meeting minutes before the press conference, were seen leaving the facility in tears. Star forward Angel Reese, whose relationship with Mulkey was a central storyline of their title run, posted a simple, powerful message on X: “4L. I love you, Coach. Thank you for believing in me.” The post was accompanied by a photo of the two embracing during the championship celebration.
The timing, while personally necessary for Mulkey, creates an unprecedented challenge for the program. The team was poised to be a preseason Top-5 team, with a mix of returning stars and elite transfers. The task for Interim Coach Lee and the athletic department will be to stabilize the roster, prevent key players from entering the transfer portal, and maintain the culture of excellence Mulkey instilled.
“This is not how anyone drew it up,” a subdued Lee said in a brief statement. “Our focus right now is on our players. They are hurting, and they are confused. Our job as a staff is to wrap our arms around them, to be the family that Coach Mulkey built, and to honor her by preparing to compete at the standard she set. That’s what she would demand.”
For Kim Mulkey, the decision closes a legendary 40-year coaching career that includes four national championships (three at Baylor, one at LSU), over two dozen conference titles, and a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for her flashy sideline outfits and fiery demeanor, she was one of the most recognizable and influential figures in all of college sports.
Her departure also marks a significant shift in the power dynamics of women’s college basketball, which is currently experiencing a massive surge in popularity. The LSU-South Carolina rivalry, fueled by the personalities of Mulkey and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, had become must-see television. That chapter has now abruptly closed.
As the press conference concluded, Mulkey, often portrayed as an indomitable competitor, showed a rare moment of vulnerability. “To the state of Louisiana, to LSU, to every player I’ve ever coached… thank you,” she said, her voice catching. “You gave a little girl from Tickfaw a chance to live her dream. This program is in great hands. The foundation is poured. The standard is set. Now, it’s someone else’s turn to build upon it.”
The shock of Kim Mulkey’s immediate retirement will take time to settle. For LSU, the urgent task of naming a permanent coach begins now. For the world of college basketball, it’s the stunning end of an era, a reminder that even the most formidable legends are ultimately guided by the calls of the heart and home.