Kim (Stephens) Caldwell, a Parkersburg South graduate, stands in the middle with Donde Plowman (Chancellor of UT), left, and Dr. Daniel J. White (Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics at UT), during Tuesday’s press conference to formally introduce Caldwell as the new head coach of the school’s women’s basketball team. (Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee)
Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Lady Vols are taking a giant step forward with the new coach tasked with resurrecting the ancient program into title contenders.
Caldwell, who has only coached one of her eight seasons as a Division I head coach, will be laboring in the shadow of the late Pat Summitt, whose eight national championship banners hang in the rafters. Caldwell discussed Summitt’s impact on women’s basketball when she was presented on Tuesday.
“I will never be Pat Summitt,” Caldwell declared. “Nobody can, but I will strive every day to be somebody that she would be proud of.”
Tennessee announced the hire of its fourth Lady Vols coach in 50 years on Sunday, right before the women’s national championship game. According to athletic director Danny White, Caldwell stood out throughout her weeklong interview.
“We have a very competitive new coach and someone who wasn’t afraid of the challenge to restore this legendary program to where we all want it to be,” White said in a statement.
Caldwell will have to be more than confident. She is moving from the Sun Belt Conference to the Southeastern Conference, which has produced three national champions in the past.
She is also the Lady Vols’ first non-Tennessee coach since Summitt, who took over in 1974 at the age of 22. Summitt went 1,098-208 in her illustrious career, with her Lady Vols finishing as national runners-up five times.
Caldwell replaces Kellie Harper, who won three titles under Summitt in the 1990s before being sacked on April 1 after finishing 108-52 in five seasons. Her predecessor, another Lady Vols former player, Holly Warlick, led Tennessee to three Elite Eight appearances, the last of which came in 2016.
Tennessee’s latest Final Four appearance came in 2008, when the Lady Vols won their eighth and final national championship under Summitt, who retired in 2012 after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
The SEC, which Tennessee used to dominate, sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, and the Lady Vols ended just outside the final AP Top 25 revealed Monday.
The SEC will only become tougher next season, with No. 7 Texas and No. 21 Oklahoma joining the league in July.
Caldwell, according to White, will create a team that can compete with the SEC’s “extremely formidable opponents” and “get back to competing for national championships.”
Her five-year contract of $750,000 every season makes it plain what is expected. Caldwell’s national victory will result in an almost instant wage increase, at least matching the Division I’s highest-paid women’s coach.
Caldwell was named the 2024 Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year after leading Marshall to its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 1997. In her eight seasons as an NCAA Tournament head coach, she had a 217-31 record.
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