Summitt was known as such a competitor that she refused to let a pilot land in Virginia when she went into labor with her son, Tyler, during a recruiting trip in 1990.
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It is with tremendous sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Patricia Sue Head Summitt.
Her son, Tyler Summitt, confirmed her death in a statement Tuesday morning. “She has had an impact on everybody’s life, and will continue to”.
Born: June 14, 1952, in Clarksville, Tenn.
Pat Summitt, who built the University of Tennessee’s Lady Volunteers into a perennial power on the way to becoming the winningest coach in the history of major college basketball, has died.
“I just always appreciated Pat’s friendship and support”, Manning said Tuesday.
A private service and burial will be held for my mother in Middle Tennessee.
“If anyone asks, you can find me observing practice or in my office”, Summitt said at the time. A public memorial is planned at a later date at Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. “Details for the celebration of life will be shared at a later date”. She understood her place in the game-I also have no doubt she liked being Pat Summitt and the amenities that came with that-but she went out of her way to give you an inside look at what she did. I was honored to present her with the Arthur Ashe Award a few years ago and honored to serve on the Pat Summitt Alzheimer’s Foundation for these past several years.
Summitt was hired in 1974 as the Lady Vols head coach at 22. She won eight NCAA titles. Today, ESPN pays millions of dollars to broadcast the annual Women’s College Basketball Tournament. She always made it clear that her work was not about her – it was about her players, her teams, and her commitment to excellence in sports, education and life.
“When she fights this disease, what she has taught all of us is how to do it with courage”, former Tennessee women’s athletic director Joan Cronan said at a 2015 charity event honoring Summitt. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Summitt family and the Lady Vol family”. The women’s basketball program was still a bare-bones operation then: Summitt was responsible for everything from driving the team bus to washing uniforms, and she later recalled occasions when the team spent the night in the opposing team’s gym. Not Bobby Bowden. Not Geno Auriemma, whose rivalry with Summitt played a big role in raising the profile of the women’s game.
“She did so with bravely fierce determination just as she did with every opponent she ever faced”, the statement read.
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Her icy demeanor was legendary on the court, intimidating officials and opposing teams, and making sure her players did their best. Rest in peace to an SEC legend.
