Pat Summitt passes away at 64

Pat Summitt is represented on UT Martin’s campus by monuments, a street name, and a basketball court. Her death, five years and two months after being diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, resulted in an outpouring of reactions from the president to people who never played for Summitt. “Even though it’s incredibly hard to come to terms that she is no longer with us, we can all find peace in knowing she no longer carries the heavy burden of this disease”.

But unless Summitt stops coaching in the next few seasons, or Tennessee has a shocking decline in its program, then neither Knight nor any other coach will catch Summitt once she is done.

Barron said one of his memorable moments was when he was able to talk with Summitt and take his daughters to visit her practice in the days leading up to her record-setting win. “I remember I threw up twice that day”. She believed that it was her job to help them get the most out of themselves.

Nancy Darsch: After working on Summitt’s staffs at Tennessee from 1978-85, Darsch was Ohio State’s head coach from 1986-97. It turned into a career to which Skyhawk’s Interim Athletic Director Kevin McMillan said coaches nationwide can only aspire.

“Pat Summitt impacted people on so many levels and her influence on the game of women’s basketball was far bigger than her list of wins and losses”, said Lady Techsters coach Brooke Stoehr, who played against Summitt-coached teams for four seasons as a Techster. Pat’s competitive spirit, discipline and work ethic have challenged, taught, and inspired so many, and the legacy she leaves will forever be a vital part of our game. “They may be the youngest kids she ever tried to recruit – but that’s so Pat Summitt”.

Women’s basketball’s greatest champion – both in terms of on-court victories and elevating the sport – died Tuesday. Fargas won national titles as a player (1991) and assistant (2007, 2008) at Tennessee. “That’s the thing that is so fantastic about her. No matter how many awards she received or how many celebrities she knew, whenever she came back she still was the same girl and made us feel very special”.

Semeka Randall: Randall played for Tennessee from 1997-2001 and was a key performer on the 1998 national championship team that went undefeated.

In addition to her son Tyler, Summitt is survived by her mother, sister, three brothers and three sisters-in-law.

Pat Summitt will be missed, but an entire nation is grateful for the doors she opened.

The lady might not coach men, but she knows the game as well as any man.

When Summitt took over at Tennessee, the NCAA didn’t recognize women’s basketball as a varsity sport.

“You know, a lot of people talk about her stare, how harsh she was, but what I see is her passion”, says Evans. “She really spearheaded the globalization of the game”. “I just respected her name, what she had done for the game and everything she stood for so much that I wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass by”. None of her teams had left the tournament so early.