KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As the Lady Vols head toward another Sweet 16 round, longtime observers said they've seen less enthusiasm by fans now than during the Pat Summitt era.
Maria Cornelius, a longtime sportswriter who's covered the Lady Vols since the 1990s, said she thinks it's because fans are still mourning the loss of legendary women's basketball head coach Pat Summitt.
"This wasn't just a legendary coach," Cornelius said. "This was a legendary coach who was felled by a terrible disease."
Cornelius said she watched in 2008 as Summitt won her final national championship and cut down the nets.
"Had you told me, watching that celebration and how they won those two games, that in 8 years Pat would be dead — I would never have believed it," Cornelius said.
Summitt retired after losing to Baylor in the Elite Eight. Cornelius was there.
"I am watching a legend of the game walk down this hallway at her last game," Cornelius said.
Now, Cornelius said she thinks the new head coach, Kellie Harper, will put the Lady Vols on a path to success. Harper played for Summitt during their national championship run between 1996 and 1998.
"There was that yearning to get back to what the Lady Vols were," Cornelius said. "Tennessee is on the way back. Truly on the way back."
However, Cornelius said don't expect the Lady Vols to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament every year. She said there's a lot more parity now, and more teams compete every year.
Cornelius said that's exactly how Pat Summitt would've wanted it.
"The Sweet Sixteen was considered a birthright for Tennessee," Cornelius said.