Her son, Tyler Summitt, issued a statement Tuesday morning saying his mother died peacefully at Sherrill Hill Senior Living in Knoxville, the Associated Press reported. She was the commander-in-chief of the best women’s basketball program in the country; the woman whose legendary precision and steely determination had been immortalized on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and who had, more importantly, delivered widespread respect to our game.
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Summitt grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee and played college basketball at Tennessee-Martin.
Summitt became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history in 2005 with her 880th victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament, breaking the mark set by North Carolina men’s coach Dean Smith.
1984 – Head coach of the US women’s basketball team that wins gold at the Olympics in Los Angeles.
Coached the Lady Vols to eight NCAA Championships (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996-1998, 2007, 2008). Her teams won 16 Southeastern Conference tournament titles and made an unprecedented 31 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Summitt started a foundation in her name to fight Alzheimer’s in 2011 that has raised millions of dollars.
Former Florida and SC football coach Steve Spurrier spoke Monday about Summitt’s legacy.
Summitt remained a pillar of the University of Tennessee community and culture until her death. “We had a great relationship and helped each other recruit all the time”.
Peyton Manning is remembering his friend Pat Summitt. Her record at the University of Tennessee was 1,098-208, the most wins recorded by any Division I basketball coach regardless of gender. But Summitt made sure Lauren got the signed basketball she wanted and met the stars she most hoped to see. “I will miss her dearly, and I am honored to call her my friend”.
At the time, women’s basketball was largely played in a six-on-six format, with three players on offense and three players on defense.
It turned out that years ago, upon leaving the floor after a game at Louisiana Tech, Summitt had spotted a girl in a wheelchair at the mouth of the tunnel. She attended almost every home game and many practices in the first year after stepped down as coach, though she had a less visible role in subsequent seasons.
The corner of Chamique Holdsclaw Drive and Lake Loudoun Boulevard on the University of Tennessee campus seemed like the right place to be Sunday afternoon.
Summitt won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2012 ESPYs and the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year for her courageous announcement and the amount of awareness she was helping to bring to dementia-related illnesses.
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Summit married R.B. Summitt in 1980 and had one son, Tyler.
