Nikki Caldwell has agreed to become the women’s basketball coach at Louisiana State, the school announced Saturday. LSU will hold a 2 p.m. news conference Monday to introduce Caldwell, who coached at UCLA for the last three seasons.
Caldwell will be making a return to the Southeastern Conference, a league she knows all too well. Caldwell starred at SEC powerhouse Tennessee from 1991 to 1994 as a player and returned to the school as an assistant coach under Pat Summitt.
UCLA gave Caldwell her first head-coaching gig in 2008 by signing her to a five-year deal worth $295,000 per year. In three seasons, Caldwell turned the program around. Before her arrival, UCLA had one NCAA Tournament win; Caldwell led the Bruins to two wins.
“UCLA is a special place in so many ways,” Caldwell said in a statement released by UCLA. “I will forever be indebted for the opportunities that UCLA has afforded me. Dan Guerrero is one of the elite athletic directors and it has been a privilege and an honor to work with this administration. They did all they could to keep me at UCLA and I appreciate those efforts.