“This is for the fans as well as for her family and her friends”, said Erin Freeman, who has been serving as a Summitt family spokeswoman. Chris Brinkley, voice of the UT Martin Skyhawks, will offer brief remarks to open and close the webcast.
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Mike Strange covers University of Tennessee sports for the News Sentinel.
Funding for the clinic is coming in part from the Pat Summitt Foundation, an organization the former coach launched in 2011 to help fight the disease.
Summitt earned the title of the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history after coaching the Lady Vols at the Univeristy of Tennessee for 38 seasons.
Alzheimer’s experts say there’s no doubt Summitt’s impact will continue.
“When we look at public figures, there are very few that have come out publicly and said, “I have Alzheimer’s” and then continued to remain public for a period of time”, Beth Kallmyer, the vice president of constituent services for the Alzheimer’s Association, told the AP.
Since Summitt’s death the foundation that bears her name has received $320,000 in donations, a number that includes roughly $225,000 in proceeds from the sale of commemorative T-shirts. “To me, this celebration is really a gift to the fans from Pat”.
Organizers of the event have been issuing reminders that although the ceremony is taking place on Tennessee’s home court, it is a memorial service and shouldn’t have the atmosphere of an athletic contest.
There will be no signs allowed in the area and no photography of any kind.
She stepped down as Tennessee’s head coach in April 2012 and devoted her final years to the establishment of the Pat Summitt Foundation, which raises funds for Alzheimer’s research and awareness.
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In many parts of America, especially cities with large universities but no professional teams, college basketball is an obsession, with crowds, broadcast deals and coaches’ salaries rivaling the major leagues, even though the players are unpaid students.
