Tennessee coach Pat Summitt waving as she leaves the court after Tennessee defeated DePaul 63-48 in an NCAA tournament second-round game in March 2012.
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“If anyone asks, you can find me observing practice or in my office”.
Summitt announced in 2011 that she was battling early onset dementia.
Buddy Ryan, who coached two defenses that won Super Bowl titles and whose twin sons Rex and Rob have been successful National Football League coaches, died Tuesday.
Under the direction of Summitt, the Lady Vols were NCAA Tournament mainstays over her illustrious career.
In 2013, Summitt spoke with NPR’s Linda Wertheimer about the introduction of Title IX as part of the Equal Opportunity in Education Act, which expanded college sports programs for women.
Dan Fleser covers Tennessee women’s basketball.
Many fans walked by Pat Summitt Plaza and took pictures of the statue that shows Summitt standing and smiling rather than displaying her trademark glare. Summitt was head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team when it won Olympic gold in 1984. CNN writes, “When she became head coach of the Lady Vols in 1974 at the age of 22 – barely older than some of her players – the NCAA did not even formally recognize women’s basketball”.
“Summarizing Pat Summitt’s impact is impossible because she embodied all of the virtues you can imagine as a coach and a leader, from class to toughness to passion”, Barnhart said.
Sen. Lamar Alexander was president of the University of Tennessee when Pat Summitt coached the Lady Vols to the 1989 NCAA title.
“As Pat once said in recalling her achievements, ‘What I see are not the numbers”.
The Tennessee women’s basketball coach struggled to speak at the conclusion of a Tuesday morning teleconference. In 2009, she told NPR’s Michel Martin about how her father’s no-nonsense attitude molded her, and eventually led to her style of coaching, including her self-described intensity and an icy-cold stare that could freeze a player in her tracks.
What I loved most about Coach Summitt is she never took no for an answer in her time as head coach.
I’m sure Tennessee is happy they made their offer to the coach.
On Tuesday, he called her a patriot, a “proud Tennessean” and an unparalleled victor.
Summitt’s greatest adversary on the court was Auriemma. She was known for being tough on her players, but said that after she had her son, Tyler, she found herself becoming a little softer toward her team, trying to be more accommodating to their needs. And I always said that I wished I would have played for her.
“She did so with bravely fierce determination just as she did with every opponent she ever faced”, the statement read.
Obama, who presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, said in the statement that her legacy will carry with her winning streak and her 100% graduate rate among her players. “My teammates and I went to a lot of Lady Vols games when we were in school, and I really enjoyed watching her teams play”. She had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, in 2011 and retired after the 2011-12 season with 1,098 wins, the most for any coach in college basketball history – men’s or women’s.
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A public memorial service is being planned for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
