BATON ROUGE, La. — When Kim Mulkey left women's basketball powerhouse Baylor to take the job at LSU in April 2021, the hot-blooded Louisiana native was given a new nickname: ROI. .
ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli predicted the Tigers would convince Mulkey, a three-time national champion at Baylor University, to return to her home state and become the highest-paid coach in women's hoops. It's like a “return on investment.'' LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward said he knew the money would be well spent, but who could have predicted. this?
USA TODAY Sports reviewed compensation for Division I women's basketball head coaches and found Mulkey's highest salary this season was $3.26 million, followed by South Carolina's Dawn Staley and Connecticut's Geno Auriemma (both $3.1 million). dollar). She is one of 18 coaches to earn more than $1 million this year, up from 11 since 2021-22, the last time USA TODAY Sports conducted this survey.
The proliferation of “million dollar babies,” as one agent likes to call them, speaks to the sharp rise in both investment in and popularity of women's sports. And while women's coaches say there is still room for significant improvement, the numbers in LSU's annual financial report confirm what many have been claiming for years: More It means you need money to bring money.
In other words:
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- For the three seasons before Mulkey arrived in Baton Rouge (excluding 2020-21, which was an unusual year for any program due to the COVID-19 pandemic), LSU women's basketball's annual average Operating revenue was just over $306,000. Mulkey's first season, 2021-22, totaled nearly $1.8 million in revenue. In 2022-23, it will be nearly $2.5 million. Like many schools, LSU does not attribute media rights revenue to women's basketball, but reports that $27 million of its $46.3 million in media rights revenue in fiscal year 2023 is not specific to a particular sport. did.
- From 2017 to 2020, LSU reported $316,213 from ticket sales. In 2021-22, it was $867,166. Last season, he made $973,880. And in 2024, LSU's average attendance will increase significantly as the Tigers almost exclusively drew five-digit crowds.
- The amount of money LSU classified as a donation to the women's basketball program quadrupled under Mulkey. In 2019-20, the year before the pandemic, it was $200,021. In 2020-21, it was $32,250. In 2021-22, it was $583,586. In 2022-23, it was $836,939.
and it is in front The Tigers won the 2023 National Championship behind Angel Reese, a player Mulkey acquired in the transfer portal in 2022 as one of his first moves as head coach.
“I call it Marquee Mania,” Antonelli told USA TODAY Sports as locals packed into the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, many wearing sequins to match the head coach's flashy outfit. He talked about the Tigers craze wearing jackets. “I give credit to Scott Woodward. He paid her a big salary, invested in infrastructure, and was confident she would deliver. What they accomplished was remarkable. But , even he probably didn't expect it to work out so quickly.”
Antonelli added that this is proof that when athletics departments invest in women's sports, it's worth it.
AD supports his alma mater: “Finance is crap”
As a reminder, Woodward said he still expects LSU to have a “huge deficit” in women's basketball this season. It will probably be on par with last season's operating deficit (just under $7.8 million). In 2020, it was $4.35 million.
Woodward doesn't care. She believes that investments in women's sports should not be evaluated objectively, but rather subjectively. The 1985 LSU graduate said he's driven by his desire to make his school look the best in every way, whether it's football, physics or, yes, women's hoops.
“I think of this university for the greater good, not just for women's sports, but for the young girls in this region and for those who aspire to attend this university, and for the people of this state to feel great.” “To bring about that,” he said. “I don't think of it as dollars and cents or red and black.”
That's why Woodward plans to continue pouring money into women's basketball, saying, “Finances are crap.”
Under the NCAA's current model, schools derive nearly all of their operating budgets from revenue generated from football and men's basketball (LSU is close to breaking even in baseball, according to its 2022-23 fiscal year financial report). However, this is unusual). But there are hopes from the women's basketball world that their sport will soon be able to make money.
In January, the NCAA announced an eight-year, $290 million media rights deal for 40 NCAA Championship events, led by women's basketball. The contract, which takes effect next season, is worth about three times his current contract. In addition, new NCAA president Charlie Baker announced that women's basketball will begin receiving credits similar to men's basketball, where conferences will receive compensation for participating in and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
For more than 30 years, the boys have had a unit that encourages schools to invest in men's hoops (coaches claim the unit encourages schools to invest in men's hoops). Women's coaches have been fighting for the same distribution model for nearly a decade. This will be a boon for everyone, but especially for schools, which normally dance until the end of March.
But Mulkey isn't sure whether women's basketball can be a cash cow.
“Will it happen in my lifetime? I don't know,” she told USA TODAY Sports. “I hope so. I've certainly seen a lot of things in my life that I never thought I would see in women's basketball. We're on TV at almost every game.”
David Berry, a sports economics professor at Southern Utah University, is optimistic that women's sports can and will generate even more revenue in the coming years. However, there are also factors beyond their control.
“It will continue to be the case that women's college basketball lags behind men's in terms of revenue,” Berry said. “It's not because men's products are better, it's because they came first and have 100 years of history (and marketing) behind them.”
“I think Kim Mulkey is a genius.”
The big problem with making women's sports profitable has to do with television.
“One of the things that's holding back women's sports is the TV deals that people make for women. They're really bad,” Belli explained. “One of the things that's holding women back from earning money in women's basketball is that the NCAA is run by men and they're not very keen on marketing women's sports.”
Woodward said she has no idea how quickly women's basketball can become profitable nationally, but “there are good signs” from a TV ratings and ticket sales standpoint. Last April's LSU-Iowa final drew nearly 10 million viewers, a 103% increase from the 2022 championship game. Numerous television viewership records were set this season, and some Power Five conferences were often sold out.
Mulkey also said she was encouraged that the power and potential of women's sports was being “recognized in a way that wasn't forced or fake.” “The crowds around the bus when you go on a road trip, the lines outside the arena to attend a ballgame, it's real. There aren't enough of those (programs) yet.”
Women's college basketball will continue to lag behind men's basketball in terms of revenue. Not because men's products are better, but because men's products came first and have 100 years of history (and marketing) behind them.
David Berry, Professor of Sports Economics, Southern Utah University
But thanks to LSU's efforts, I believe other schools can get there, too.
“I think Kim Mulkey is a genius,” Arizona coach Adia Burns said. “She started this whole craze for people to dress like her and see what she did in a short period of time and how many fans they were bringing in. That’s pretty remarkable.”
When Barnes took over as Arizona coach in 2016, the Wildcats had just over 300 season ticket holders. After leading the Wildcats to his 2021 Final Four, McKale his center field is always full. Arizona State leads the Pac-12 in attendance with 7,569 fans per game. Arizona State sold more than 7,000 season tickets this year and raised season ticket prices three times during Burns' eight-year tenure.
“All the great players, all the stardom in women's basketball, that's powerful,” Burns said. “And that goes back to finances.”
LSU is paying Kim Mulkey more than the men's hoops coach this season.
Ms. Mulkey said that when Mr. Woodward hired her, he did not require a certain salary for himself or his assistants.
“I never put dollar numbers into anything (during negotiations),” Mulkey said. She was surprised to learn that she is the highest paid coach in women's hoops this season. “What I asked was, 'Do you have any financial investments?' I have to tell you what I'm making at Baylor, with the understanding that I won't take a pay cut. , you want to hire me and my staff?'
The answer was yes. Baylor, which Mulkey said “took good care of me financially,” had already become one of the highest-paid women's head coaches in the country during her 21 seasons at Waco. In her last calendar year (2020), which she attended at Baylor University, her school gave her $2.7 million, including bonuses and benefits, according to her tax documents. Ms. Marquis brought two of her three assistants to Baton Her Rouge and has since expanded her support staff. Also in 2022, she brought on veteran assistant Bob Starkey, who has coached LSU's men's and women's teams for a combined 24 seasons.
Spending on women's hoops in Baton Rouge has increased significantly since Mulkey arrived. In fiscal year 2022, LSU invested $8.3 million, compared to just over $4.3 million in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2023, LSU invested $10.25 million, about the same amount as Men's ($10.7 million). Mulkey's salary this season is higher than that of Tigers men's coach Matt McMahon, who is making $2.7 million in his second year. The biggest difference in 2023 was in support staff funding, with the school spending $570,000 more on women's basketball than men's basketball.
Mulkey said she didn't know the breakdown of the expenses and wasn't worried.
“I'm not that great of a person to compare myself to,” she said with a shrug.
Still, Mulkey and Woodward understand that LSU is setting a precedent that other programs hope the school will follow.
“I've had conversations where I said, 'Coach, tell me how we can get our administration to give us what you're getting.'” Listen, I'm a realist. is. A lot of it has to do with me being glued to the wall,” Mulkey said, referring to his four national championship wins. “And some coaches don't do that. So I think they listen to me, considering what I've done throughout my career. There's a respect there. .”
Kim Mulkey hopes other schools will follow her example.
Mulkey knows she has a national reputation for being abrasive, but she is beloved throughout Baton Rouge and within the LSU athletic department. (She is also deeply respected, evidenced by the fact that it is she, not McMahon, who has the closest and best parking spot at the Pete Maravich meeting place. She joked, “Because I'm the oldest, I think I need to walk the shortest distance.'')
She said her goal was never to be high-maintenance. But she admits: “I'm a coach who keeps you alert.” I demand excellence and won't take no for an answer. If “no” is your answer, I'm going to say, “Let me tell you why and how, and let's figure out how we can say yes.” ” I believe there is always a way to do things. Saying “no” is easy and simple. I want someone to say, “That's a great idea.” Let's figure out how to do it, even if you've never done it before. ” ”
Examples of marketing that Mulkey doesn't like include: Across women's basketball, numerous programs are giving away hundreds of tickets to get fans to attend games, or using quirky things like pizza coupons or free T-shirts. doing things.
Her philosophy is different. It's about hiring great players, winning games, and putting a product on the shelf that sells itself.Believe that you and your players are worth it right now.
Women's basketball has value, Mulkey said, and that should be more evident now than ever.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com or follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell Steve Berkowitz (sberkowi@usatoday.com) or @Berkowitz
