Kim Mulkey did not allow for Brittney Griner’s jersey number to be retired at Baylor while employed by the university. Not only did they have a strained relationship for various non-basketball related reasons, the head coach required a player to have graduated in order for her jersey to hang in the rafters.
Griner did not graduate before being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft. She did, however, return to the school and completed a bachelor of science degree in 2019.
At that point, there was no hope for reconciliation with Mulkey. Her jersey was not retired.
That is set to change as of Monday!
Nicki Collen took over for Kim Mulkey, who left for LSU, in 2021. The former Atlanta Dream head coach has been very vocal about wanting to get Griner’s jersey retired since being hired.
I have been saying this since I arrived at Baylor that she deserves to have her jersey retired and I wanted to make sure that happened when the timing was right. With the opening of Foster Pavilion, and the WNBA offseason fitting into our season, this seemed like the right time to honor Brittney and welcome her back home.
She is one of the best basketball players in Baylor’s history, and we’re thrilled that the time has come to celebrate Brittney and all of her accomplishments.
— Nicki Colleen
Her wishes will become reality on Feb. 18 when Baylor hosts Texas Tech at its brand-new arena.
Brittney Griner’s No. 42 will be retired.
The 33-year-old Phoenix Mercury star played for the Bears from 2009 to 2013. Griner scored 3,283 points and pulled down 1,305 rebounds during her career. She also remains the NCAA career leader in blocked shots with 748.
Griner twice led her team to the Final Four. Baylor went undefeated at 40-0 en route to a national championship during her junior season.
As a result of her remarkable four-year run, and Mulkey’s departure, no women’s basketball player will ever wear No. 42 for the Bears again!
I’m honored to return home to Baylor and celebrate where so much of my journey started. I’m grateful to Coach Nicki (Collen) and the entire Baylor community and am looking forward to the opportunity to be back on campus, spend time with the team and have my family beside me to share in this incredible moment. Sic ’em Bears.
— Brittney Griner in a statement
Collen and the university would have liked the retirement ceremony to happen during the 2021/22 season. However, Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022 and was not released until the following December.
Now that she is stateside and back to competing in the WNBA, Baylor is thrilled to welcome her home to Waco next month!