Kim Mulkey has a chance to make more history if LSU beats Iowa for NCAA championship

DALLAS — LSU made history Friday by advancing to Sunday’s national championship game with its 79-72 win over Virginia Tech, the first Final Four win for an LSU women’s or men’s team.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey now has a chance to make some history of her own.

If the Tigers beat Iowa on Sunday at the American Airlines Center, Mulkey will become the first coach in NCAA Division I women’s basketball to lead two different programs to national championships.

Mulkey, in her second season at LSU, led Baylor to three NCAA titles in 2005, 2012 and 2019 and the 2010 Final Four. She is already one of just four coaches to lead two or more programs to the Final Four.

Mulkey is already the only person to win national championships as a coach, assistant coach and player. She was the point guard for Louisiana Tech in 1982 when it won the first NCAA women’s title and was an assistant at Tech when it won the 1988 national championship.

Technically, Mulkey would be the only men’s or women’s basketball coach to win national titles at two schools. Rick Pitino won in 1996 at Kentucky and in 2013 at Louisville, but Louisville’s title was later vacated because of recruiting violations.