KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Six years ago, the incomparable Pat Summitt died at the age of 64 from Alzheimer's complications.
Summitt was the head coach of the University of Tennessee's women's basketball team from 1974 to 2012. During her 38-year career, she was a groundbreaker in women's sports and garnered prestige for the Lady Vols.
In that time...
- Summitt co-captained the U.S. women's basketball team and earned a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
- She coached the U.S. women's basketball team to its first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
- The Lady Vols won 8 national championships in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008.
- Summitt was a 7-time NCAA Coach of the Year.
- She was the first-ever college basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins.
- She was named the Naismith Coach of the Century in 2000.
- Summitt coached 34 WNBA players, at least 46 coaches, 21 All-Americans, 39 all-SEC players and 12 Olympians (as part of the 1976 Summer Olympics. A total of 14 players Summitt coached at UT played in the Olympic games at some point).
- Her teams made 18 Final Four appearances, 31 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament and won 32 combined Southeastern Conference titles. (From 1976 to 2011, every Lady Vol basketball player had the opportunity to play in at least one Final Four.)
- She coached 161 Lady Vols and had a 100% graduation rate for her players who completed their eligibility.
- She had 1,098 career wins and only 208 losses, the most career Division I wins in women's basketball until 2020. (Her record was surpassed in 2020 by a friend and rival, Stanford's head coach Tara VanDerveer.)
- Tennessee had 0 losing seasons under her leadership.
Pat's legacy and her mission to fight to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease and dementia remain through the Pat Summitt Foundation.
The Pat Summitt Foundation was established in Nov. 2011 by Pat and her son Tyler and works toward finding a cure and providing support for patients and caregivers.
