KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Lady Vols are gearing up to take on Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. The court is ready and the team is in Seattle for the match-up. This will mark the first time in seven years the team is in back-to-back Sweet 16s. The last time they managed to consecutively get that far in the NCAA Tournament was in 2015 and 2016.
Dana Heart, the President of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, works closely with the NCAA Tournament and will be at the Final four. She said her daily involvement with the tournament not only shows the transformation happening inside the industry but also among the players on the court.
She says basketball and women's sports help make up a major part of Knoxville's identity, and she said the Lady Vols are proof of that.
She also said that the team is building and adding to the foundation that Pat Summit once laid, with chemistry on-and-off the court that makes the difference in their wins.
"To watch the teammates, and I say teammates because they are truly teammates," Hart said. "The way they work together. They support each other, whether they are working hard playing ball or just chilling out, they are a team."
She also said more people are attending and watching women's sports than ever before. From food to weight rooms and promotions — it's all changing.
"March Madness has changed and is continuing to evolve," she said. "Just like the women's game is changing and evolving. As you look at the attendance at games and the money that the women's game is bringing in if it's changed so much in the last 15 years."