Kim Mulkey was in the middle of coaching an exhibition game between LSU and Langston University on Thursday night when she heard the latest shocking news to hit Baton Rouge—athletic director Scott Woodward had been fired.

The university announced Thursday night that Woodward was fired after six years in the role. Among Woodward’s signature moves in his tenure as athletic director was hiring Mulkey in 2021. Two years later, he signed Mulkey to a 10-year contract worth $32 million, making her the highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the country.

In light of the news, Mulkey opted to not address the media following the game. Instead, associate head coach Bob Starkey chatted with the media and described Mulkey as “heartbroken” about Woodward’s exit.

“It made its way to the bench,” Starkey said of the news. “Scott has a deep love for coaches and student-athletes. He works incredibly hard to make sure we have the resources. He has a passion of love about this university and about this state. We, and me personally, are a lot better for him.”

The decision to fire Woodward continued a chaotic week in LSU’s athletic department. The Tigers fired head football coach Brian Kelly on Sunday, and now they don’t have a full-time athletic director in place—or a university president, for that matter.

Mulkey didn’t have too much to be heartbroken over on the court Thursday night, however. The Tigers, in their final exhibition game of the season, defeated Langston 121–41 at Maravich Center. Every Tigers player who saw the floor against Langston scored, led by Amiya Joyner, who tallied a team-high 24 points in 27 minutes.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Heartbroken’ Kim Mulkey Skips Postgame Press Conference After LSU Fires AD.

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