Legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt dies at 64
(RNN) - After a difficult battle with dementia, Pat Summitt, the winningest college basketball coach, has died at age 64.
According to a statement made by her son to WATE, Summitt died "peacefully this morning" in Knoxville.
Summitt led the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team to eight national championships and won 1,098 games in her 38-year career - more than any other coach, men's or women's, in college basketball history.
In June 2016, her family announced they were expecting the worst after her condition worsened. Summitt was diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, in 2011 and retired the following year, saying she did not want a "pity party."
Three months after her diagnosis, Summitt created the Pat Summitt Foundation to help find a cure for Alzheimer's.
She was given the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2012 ESPYs, which was presented by former University of Tennessee football star Peyton Manning.
Summitt expressed optimism in her acceptance speech.
"You win life with people," she said.
"It's time to fight," she said of her disease and her advocacy to find a cure. "I ask all of you to join me together so we will win. I am going to keep on keeping on, I promise you that."
Summitt entered college basketball as a player at Tennessee-Martin in 1970, two years before Title IX was passed, and throughout her career elevated women's basketball - and women's sports in general - to national prominence.
Some of the most famous players in women's basketball history played for Summitt at Tennessee, including Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.
Summitt was known for her intense demeanor, imposing presence and intimidating glare, often directed at players who had drawn her ire.
Born Patricia Sue Head on June 14, 1952, Summitt was committed to women's athletics long before she became a coach.
While in high school, her parents moved from Clarksville, TN, to Henrietta, TN, because the high school where they lived did not have a girls' basketball team.
As a player, Summitt was an All-America selection at UT-Martin but didn't have a scholarship, which were not yet required by Title IX. She later served as a co-captain of the women's national basketball team in the Olympics in Montreal in 1976, the first year women's basketball was an Olympic sport, leading the team to a silver medal.
She played in the Olympics while she was the head women's basketball coach at The University of Tennessee. She became a graduate assistant at UT in 1974, the year she graduated from UT-Martin. She took over as head coach that same year after the head coach abruptly resigned.
In 1984, she returned to the Olympics as head coach and led the team to a gold medal in the Los Angeles Games.
Summitt talked about the difficulty of her early years as a coach in several interviews throughout her life, describing the lack of uniforms and inadequate budgets that required them to play in unwashed uniforms and sleep in opponent's gyms while on the road.
It's a stark contrast to the Lady Vols later playing in Thompson-Boling arena, which was at one time the largest basketball stadium in the country, where the court where both men's and women's teams play is named for Summitt.
At the time Summitt took over at Tennessee, women's basketball wasn't an NCAA sanctioned sport, but within her first four years as coach, the Lady Vols had won the first SEC women's basketball tournament, achieved a No. 1 national ranking and Summitt had tallied 100 wins.
Tennessee was among the best women's teams in the country every year and had reached the Final Four of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women tournament, the precursor to the NCAA tournament, finishing as the runner-up in consecutive years to Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech.
Summitt led Tennessee to the first NCAA women's tournament in 1982, but lost to eventual champion Louisiana Tech in the Final Four.
The Lady Vols fell to Georgia in the regional finals the next year and made the championship game in 1984 before losing to Southern California. Summitt, however, was named Coach of the Year.
Tennessee claimed its first national title in 1987, beating Louisiana Tech in the title game. The teams met in the Final Four again the next year with Tennessee taking the loss. The Lady Vols claimed their second national championship in 1989 with a win over Auburn.
Following four consecutive Final Four appearances, the 1990 Final Four was scheduled to be played in the Lady Vols' home arena in Knoxville, TN, but Tennessee lost in the regional finals. However, the Lady Vols rebounded the following season to win their third national championship in five years.
It took Summitt four years to reach the Final Four again, and in her fifth national championship game, she lost to Connecticut and started what would be a long-time rivalry with the Huskies and coach Geno Auriemma.
Tennessee then won three consecutive national championships, beating UConn in the Final Four in 1996, avenging a regular season loss to UConn in 1997 and racking up a 39-0 regular season record in 1998 before beating Louisiana Tech for the national title.
In the 1999-2000 season, Tennessee handed Connecticut its only loss of the year, but lost to the Huskies in the national championship game. Auriemma beat Summitt for national titles again in 2003 and 2004.
(RNN) - After a difficult battle with dementia, Pat Summitt, the winningest college basketball coach, has died at age 64.
According to a statement made by her son to WATE, Summitt died "peacefully this morning" in Knoxville.
Summitt led the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team to eight national championships and won 1,098 games in her 38-year career - more than any other coach, men's or women's, in college basketball history.
In June 2016, her family announced they were expecting the worst after her condition worsened. Summitt was diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, in 2011 and retired the following year, saying she did not want a "pity party."
Three months after her diagnosis, Summitt created the Pat Summitt Foundation to help find a cure for Alzheimer's.
She was given the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2012 ESPYs, which was presented by former University of Tennessee football star Peyton Manning.
Summitt expressed optimism in her acceptance speech.
"You win life with people," she said.
"It's time to fight," she said of her disease and her advocacy to find a cure. "I ask all of you to join me together so we will win. I am going to keep on keeping on, I promise you that."
Summitt entered college basketball as a player at Tennessee-Martin in 1970, two years before Title IX was passed, and throughout her career elevated women's basketball - and women's sports in general - to national prominence.
Some of the most famous players in women's basketball history played for Summitt at Tennessee, including Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.
Summitt was known for her intense demeanor, imposing presence and intimidating glare, often directed at players who had drawn her ire.
Born Patricia Sue Head on June 14, 1952, Summitt was committed to women's athletics long before she became a coach.
While in high school, her parents moved from Clarksville, TN, to Henrietta, TN, because the high school where they lived did not have a girls' basketball team.
As a player, Summitt was an All-America selection at UT-Martin but didn't have a scholarship, which were not yet required by Title IX. She later served as a co-captain of the women's national basketball team in the Olympics in Montreal in 1976, the first year women's basketball was an Olympic sport, leading the team to a silver medal.
She played in the Olympics while she was the head women's basketball coach at The University of Tennessee. She became a graduate assistant at UT in 1974, the year she graduated from UT-Martin. She took over as head coach that same year after the head coach abruptly resigned.
In 1984, she returned to the Olympics as head coach and led the team to a gold medal in the Los Angeles Games.
Summitt talked about the difficulty of her early years as a coach in several interviews throughout her life, describing the lack of uniforms and inadequate budgets that required them to play in unwashed uniforms and sleep in opponent's gyms while on the road.
It's a stark contrast to the Lady Vols later playing in Thompson-Boling arena, which was at one time the largest basketball stadium in the country, where the court where both men's and women's teams play is named for Summitt.
At the time Summitt took over at Tennessee, women's basketball wasn't an NCAA sanctioned sport, but within her first four years as coach, the Lady Vols had won the first SEC women's basketball tournament, achieved a No. 1 national ranking and Summitt had tallied 100 wins.
Tennessee was among the best women's teams in the country every year and had reached the Final Four of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women tournament, the precursor to the NCAA tournament, finishing as the runner-up in consecutive years to Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech.
Summitt led Tennessee to the first NCAA women's tournament in 1982, but lost to eventual champion Louisiana Tech in the Final Four.
The Lady Vols fell to Georgia in the regional finals the next year and made the championship game in 1984 before losing to Southern California. Summitt, however, was named Coach of the Year.
Tennessee claimed its first national title in 1987, beating Louisiana Tech in the title game. The teams met in the Final Four again the next year with Tennessee taking the loss. The Lady Vols claimed their second national championship in 1989 with a win over Auburn.
Following four consecutive Final Four appearances, the 1990 Final Four was scheduled to be played in the Lady Vols' home arena in Knoxville, TN, but Tennessee lost in the regional finals. However, the Lady Vols rebounded the following season to win their third national championship in five years.
It took Summitt four years to reach the Final Four again, and in her fifth national championship game, she lost to Connecticut and started what would be a long-time rivalry with the Huskies and coach Geno Auriemma.
Tennessee then won three consecutive national championships, beating UConn in the Final Four in 1996, avenging a regular season loss to UConn in 1997 and racking up a 39-0 regular season record in 1998 before beating Louisiana Tech for the national title.
In the 1999-2000 season, Tennessee handed Connecticut its only loss of the year, but lost to the Huskies in the national championship game. Auriemma beat Summitt for national titles again in 2003 and 2004.
