Money games are a reality for HBCU programs across athletics, and Kim Mulkey sees these as opportunities to give back. LSU recently beat Alabama State 109-41, which was their fourth matchup against an HBCU this season.
In postgame comments, Mulkey spoke about why LSU intentionally plays HBCUs and how she views it as a way to give back in the NIL era.
“A lot of things go into play when you do scheduling, from helping programs by giving them guarantee money that matters, particularly this day and age with NIL As I age and watch programs that don't have what we have at LSU. Why can't we help others? I have historically always played Grambling. We got Southern up the street and I don't know if I've played Southern since I've been here. They're pretty good. We might better not play them. But, we're going to play teams that want to play us that are looking to get guaranteed money, because that's the name of the game now”
She also spoke about her experience coaching against SWAC teams, even dating back to her time at Baylor.
“I think one year they were telling us after I was at…maybe Baylor they said we were the SWAC Champions that year because we played just about everybody in the SWAC and beat them all. So yeah, that's my two cents.”
Money games are a hotly debated topic in HBCU circles, as supporters argue that the money is not worth it for risk of injury and not being able to properly compete. But, as Mulkey elocuted and South Carolina's Dawn Staley has echoed similar sentiments, the matchups are indeed a boon for HBCUs financially as all progams look to leverage up in the new era of college athletics.
