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PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
Volunteer Nation mourns loss of legendary coach Pat Summitt Tom Cruise
Staff Writer When the title of legend comes to mind, many people’s thoughts may go to words like amazing, incredible, honorary and indisputable. However, there are times when an elite few rise above words. Their actions resonate throughout an entire nation, their spirit lifts up the most unlikely individuals and their legacy reigns supreme. Tuesday, June 28, 2016, Volunteers across the nation woke to news of the passing of Tennessee’s own Pat Summitt. As early morning clouds still covered the sky, mourners began to visit the statue of the legendary coach on UT campus leaving flowers and mementos to pay their respect. While the Volunteer nation is in mourning, one may reminisce on the life of Summitt and her dedication to the state of Tennessee. Tyler Summitt, son of Pat Summitt, announced the passing of his mother early this morning. “She’ll be remembered as the all-time winningest D-1 basketball coach in NCAA history, but she was more than a coach to so many – she was a hero and a mentor, especially to me, her family, her friends, her Tennessee Lady Volunteer staff and the 161 Lady Vol student-athletes she coached during her 38-year tenure” Tyler Summitt said. Several UT affiliates have released their condolences to the family of Pat Summitt and expressed their honor, memories and respect. Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart expressed that UT athletics “are deeply saddened by today’s news of Pat Summitt’s passing. We send our deepest
Clay Seal
condolences to her son, Tyler, and to her family and friends.” “Her legacy will live on through the countless people she touched throughout her career,” Hart said. During an emotional press conference, Dave Hart emphasized that “without Pat Summit, women’s athletics would not be where they are today.” Volunteer Hall of Famer Peyton Manning shared his condolences as well as his memories of an amazing coach and mentor. “I’ve always been honored to call Pat Summitt my friend,” Manning said. “It would have been a great experience to play for her. She could have coached any team, any sport, men’s or women’s. It wouldn’t have mattered because Pat could flat out coach.” As condolences pour in, a trend is beginning to emerge on the character of Pat Summitt. Although she is viewed as an extraordinary coach, most of her close friends agree that her legendary status stretches far beyond the basketball court and into the lives of every individual she touched. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett stressed that “her character went beyond the basketball court, and she worked to ensure her players knew the same was expected of them.” In admiration of her legacy, including a 100% graduation rate for her athletes, Dave Hart insists, “there will never be another Pat Summitt. “She didn’t request excellence, she demanded it.” As the family of Pat Summitt cherishes her memory, a private service and burial will be held in Middle Tennessee. The family asks the public to respect their privacy during this time.
No one’ll do it like Summitt
April 28, 2012 We knew since last summer when Pat Summitt announced she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, this was going to happen. But the reaction is still unanimous: Just because we knew it was going to happen doesn’t make it any easier to handle. Is anyone surprised Summitt stepped down as Tennessee head coach, and longtime assistant Holly Warlick is taking over head coaching duties? No. Especially since Warlick was the de facto coach this past
year anyway, taking a larger role in practice, games and even postgame interviews. But still, there’s that pit in our stomachs. The same one that was there when Summitt announced her diagnosis in August. It’s the nausea associated with change, and the dizziness is only made worse with the fact that she’s all Tennessee has ever known for women’s basketball. And it’s not like things change a whole lot from this season. Summitt is technically still on staff as “head coach emeritus,” meaning she’ll probably still be on the bench during games, be able to call recruits, etc. But it’s no longer her program, and we’ve never seen it any other way. It’s bigger than your typical coaching
change. It’s even bigger than when Phillip Fulmer was forced out. This isn’t the end of a Lady Vols basketball era. Not a Tennessee era. Not even a women’s athletics era. This is the end of an era in American sports. Period. No one has ever done what Summitt did. No one will again. Sure, I guess it’s possible that someone could win eight national championships, reach the 1,000-win mark, have two basketball courts named after them, and have a resume with enough conference titles to get its driver’s license. But they won’t do it like Summitt. On top of that, she pioneered the sport,
and sports in general, for girls and women all over the country. When her name came up for legitimate men’s coaching jobs, it wasn’t in a sarcastic tone. She recruited the best athletes who also performed in the classroom, and she never wavered when it seemed as though everyone else did. She mastered the tough love coaching strategy. She’d give that famously infamous stare, stomp her feet and scream at a player headed toward the bench in front of thousands of fans, and the players loved her more for it. Now it’s Warlick’s turn, an opportunity she’s certainly earned. But boy, what a tough act to follow.
PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
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A Letter from: Travis Haney
Travis Haney
ESPN Staff Writer Truthfully, I don’t recall the first time I met Coach Summitt. And I think that’s because our conversations when I covered the team became so frequent - and so familiar - that it was as if I’d always known her. She had that way about her: The minute you met her, you felt as if you’d been friends for years. She was so socially charming and easy to talk to; it’s no wonder she could convince any young high school star to come to Knoxville. I would’ve swam across the Tennessee River for her, knowing her the little bit that I did.
As a UT student, I was a Lady Vols beat reporter in 2001-02 (Chattanooga Times Free Press) and 2002-03 (The Tennessean). Those were very good teams, fun teams to cover. I still keep in touch with All-America guard Kara Lawson, now an ESPN colleague. But more than any specific game, what I remember were ... the practices. I would go every day after class and sit courtside at the scorer’s table with Dan Fleser from the News Sentinel. At some point during practice - every, single practice - Coach Summitt would come over and sit on the edge of the table in front of us and just casually chat with Dan and I. Pat Summitt, who felt larger than life to me growing up in East Tennessee, was my friend. That still feels shocking and cool to say, a dream come true. And here’s the thing: She treated me just the same way that she treated Dan, who had covered the team for something like 20 years at that point. Meanwhile, I had been on Earth for 20 years. I’d never covered a team on a daily basis before. What a place to learn. What a person to learn from. And, as I think about it now, maybe Coach Summitt knew that it was something of a classroom for me. I wasn’t one of her players, but maybe she knew I was learning how to become a writer and reporter in a similar way that Lawson was learning to become a
point guard. I think she was that intuitive and that perceptive of others’ situations. When Coach Summitt won her 900th game in 2006, I sent her a note to congratulate her. I was working as a reporter covering Atlanta Braves baseball, and I thanked her for the foun-
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Pat Summitt, who felt larger than life to me growing up in East Tennessee, was my friend. That still feels shocking and cool to say, a dream come true.”
dation on which my professional career was based. I didn’t really expect a response at all
- but she wrote me back within a week or two. It was the middle of the season, right before the SEC Tournament. She told me that she was glad that she could help me in my career. A lot of people are talking now about Coach Summitt’s impact on women’s basketball and women’s athletics - and sports, as a whole. Rightfully so. She was truly a pioneer who should be lauded for her work to build a sport and create opportunities for thousands and thousands of young women. But that’s not what I think of when I think of her. I think of the sharp-witted, warm person who would come over and talk with me for 20-30 minutes a day. I think of how she treated me, even though I was just a kid finding my way. I think of how she treated everyone she encountered, greeting them with a kind word or a joke -- whatever the situation called for. She was always pitch perfect.. She was special to me. She was special to a lot of people. I hate that she’s gone. I still cannot believe it. But I’m so thankful for her influence on my life. I’m thankful for that time spent with her and around her. With apologies to those in Circle Park, it was my best class at UT. Travis Haney is a former Daily Beacon sports reporter and a 2003 graduate of UT.
“Surround yourself with people who are better than you are. Seek out quality people, acknowledge their talents, and let them do their jobs. You win with people.”
Thank you for dedication and commitment to the University of Tennessee, its’ students, and all who knew you. We are honored to be your people. CommonsAtKnoxville.com | TheCommonsOnBridge.com | Leasing Office: 1640 Grand Avenue, Suite 1101 | 865.637.6222
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PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
Lady Vols receive long-overdue honor Staff Report
The Daily Beacon Just rewards are often not forthcoming to superior achievers. But excellent overall performance culminated in highest achievement for Tennessee’s Lady Volunteers Sunday when they realized a long-held dream by winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s national championship. Tennessee’s women’s athletics programs have long been viewed as outstanding. The Lady Vols in particular have dominated basketball since they first took the court in 1976. Since that time, the Lady Vols have graced the Final Four for times (including this year), garnered two SEC championships and gone to post-season play in each year. Tennessee has correctly been recognized as a traditional powerhouse. Still, the Lady Vols have often been treated with less respect than they deserve. In this year’s NCAA tournament, for example, one sour opponent referred to the team as “the corn-fed girls” from Tennessee. But Sunday’s 67-44 victory over longtime
nemesis Louisiana Tech vindicated and satisfied the 10-year dreams of the powerhouse team that never won it all. The victory was particularly sweet for Coach Pat Summitt and the team’s two graduating seniors, Shelly Sexton of Lake City, Tenn., and Cheryl Littlejohn of Gastonia, NC. The two had been to the Final Four twice before only to be denied a first-place finish. This is not to say that the Lady Vols’ accomplishment in any way overshadows those made every day by UT students in academics, socially or personally. Sports is not king of this campus. But their triumph is ours. Theirs represents to the nation the strides many UT students make every day. For this, we congratulate Summitt and the Lady Vols. Their high goals, sportsmanship and, above all, fortitude, are inspiring. UT is a hotbed of such achievement, and theirs serves as a trumpet and mirror for all of us. Reprinted from the Daily Beacon, March 31, 1987.
A young girl at Summitt’s Basketball camp Presley Smith
Staff Writer From a young age, myself and many other young basketball players, viewed Pat as a hero. A legend. And so, given the opportunity, many young girls flocked from all over the country to attend the summer “Pat Summit Basketball Camp.” The camp started with us all gathering around the well-known signature at center court, waiting anxiously to see Pat herself. We were led in an “energy check,” which consisted of clapping and stomping, to make sure all the energy in the room was at an all-time high before Pat came to speak with us. Year after year, having personally attended the camp too many times to count, the excitement never dulled. Every year, the campers were surprised by every current Lady Vols player walking onto the court, and as you can guess, the room was filled with a million little girls screaming. The screaming, if possible, raised to an ear splitting volume when Pat herself walked onto the court, but she had our attention in an instant from her words “Welcome future Vols.” At this camp, Pat showed us the personal side. As she addressed us for the first time, she explained to us that basketball was so much more than a physical thing and said that “you may not be the best player, but you can always be the hardest working.” Her motivational speeches all throughout the three-day camp each year simply stuck with each
and every one of us. She had a way of capturing everyone’s attention and making an impression that will never be forgotten. Soon after Pat addressing us on the final day, all of the campers were allowed a tour of the locker room and athletic training room. Here, we were allowed to get our shirts, basketballs and shoes signed by the members of the Lady Vols basketball team. And after this, we were allowed to speak with Pat herself. When Pat was signing a pair of shorts or a basketball, she asked you how you enjoyed camp, what your interests were and where you were from. Her personal interaction with everyone made us each feel important. In my experience, this sort of personal outreach was more than just for show. My mother and I were in a near fatal car wreck when I was eight years old, and when my cousin, Alyssa Drummer, mentioned the incident to Pat, she and the entire team signed a Lady Vols shirt for me while I was unconscious in ICU. The shirt is my prized possession to this day. The fact that Pat Summitt cared so much about each person she came into contact with made her the icon she was and still is. Pat Summitt was not just the basketball coach with the outstanding record and icy stare; she was so much more. Pat not only made such an impression on each and every player she coached, but she also changed the lives of all those who came to the camp year after year. She was more than a coach to us; she was a hero, motivator and an all around admirable person.
PATSUMMITT
A Letter from: Paul Finebaum
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The Daily Beacon
Paul Finebaum
ESPN SEC Network show host The first thing I noticed was the stare. I felt it going through me like a laser as I was frantically searching for a seat on the Tennessee charter plane about to leave for Oxford, Miss. She didn’t actually speak but nodded, indicating it was okay for the young sports editor of the Tennessee school newspaper to sit next to the equally young head women’s basketball coach. We talked about her time on the USA Olympic team, about the challenge of getting her program noticed. Back then, the men and women’s basketball program traveled together. Sitting together became a routine over the next few weeks, but the conversation was always different. Pat Head, as she was known at the time, loved to talk about her time on the Olympic team, on the challenges of being a young coach of a sport that few rarely cared about on the Knoxville campus. I could see as she talked the young woman from Clarksville, TN was going
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You may have heard before that Pat never lacked in confidence.”
to be successful and she knew it, too. You may have heard before that Pat never lacked in confidence. A few weeks later, after that first plane ride, I remember getting the news on the teletype from the AP the Tennessee Lady Vols had vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the polls. There was no email, no internet, no Twitter. So I
grabbed my notebook and dashed out the door and made the quick run down the street to Stokely Athletic Center, racing past all of the plush football offices, past the suite of offices for the men’s basketball team, down the hallway to I finally found her office. From the outside, it looked like a utility closet. I banged on her door and she screamed, come in. It was so small, there was barely room for both us when I breathlessly told her the news the Vols were No. 1, the steely eyes turned soft and her frown and snarl turned into a wide toothy grin. ``Well, how about that,’’ she said. And the meaning was clear. People were noticing. And everyone was going to have to finally take her seriously. And did they ever. Today, she may be gone, but her memory will never leave those of us who knew her before she was Pat Summitt, before the eight national championships, the 18 Final Four appearances, the seven times she was picked as the Coach of the Year, before coaching a Gold Medal team and before becoming one of the most beloved figures in the history of the game. Sometimes, it’s a cliché to say the true measure of a coach isn’t only the titles that he or she has won, but the effect they had on another people’s lives. From that standpoint, no coach has ever stood taller than Pat Summitt. I have never spoken to a former player of Pat’s – or for that matter – anyone with whom she has ever worked with or come in contact, that didn’t cherish their time together and walk away deeply affected by the relationship. When the news broke on August 23, 2011 that she was ill, it seemed like the world stood still. And how she so bravely fought back, against all odds, spending time with her former players, continuing to try and enrich their lives. As a journalist, one always attempts to take emotion out of almost all equations. You don’t always win that battle, but you try. With Pat Summitt, today, that is hopeless. There is simply no way to reflect back on her life and her many accomplishments, and not be so terribly sad at what has been lost. One can only hope she had peace in her final days, knowing the impact she had on basketball, and the large number of people who came in contact with her. Others can argue, but I don’t think any person has ever had a more profound and lasting impact on the sport in which they coached. Her accomplishments, the small gyms and streets, her name on the court and even the statute that bears her likeness are wonderful ways to remember her by. But for me, it was those early years, when everything was in front of her, when she was plotting her course and about the change the game of women’s college basketball forever. Paul Finebaum is a former Daily Beacon editor in chief and a 1978 graduate of UT.
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PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
Summitt etched in Tennessee history with statue, plaza unveiling Jenna Butz
November 25, 2013 “It’s a goose bumps day on Rocky Top,” UT Athletic Director Dave Hart announced to the crowd gathered on the corner of Lake Loudon Boulevard and Phillip Fulmer Way. Friday, Lady Vol fans across generations came to celebrate the career of legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt at the unveiling of the Pat Summitt Plaza. As members of UT’s marching band played ‘Rocky Top,’ Summitt lead a procession, escorted by her son, Tyler Summitt. Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, former Lady Vol Tamika Catchings and Dave Hart were followed by Holly Warlick, the current Lady Vols basketball team and generations of the team’s alumni. In honor of his father and in memory of his mother, Scott Hilary and his wife Debbie donated the lead gift for the plaza. Chris and Quinita LaPorte funded Pat Summitt’s commemorative statue.
Opening the ceremony, Hart recalled Summit’s initial reaction to hearing the university’s plans to construct the plaza and the statue. In response, Summitt told a close friend, “Can you believe they’re doing this for me? I’m just a basketball coach.” Emphasizing the span of her legacy, Hart pointed to the line of current and former Lady Vols. “These women here today, represent only a sampling of those you’ve touched,” Hart said. “The women you’ve impacted in such a significant way. You were their coach, and so through that experience, they grew, and they grew immensely. But more than that, you were their mentor. And through mentoring them, you literally shaped their lives.” The winningest coach in NCAA basketball history with 1098 career wins, Summitt won 84 percent of the games she coached, solidifying her place in numerous halls of fame. In addition, every Lady Vol that played for Summitt completed their degree. “There’s nobody else in the coaching field that
will have 100 percent graduation,” Marty Acuff, a Lady Vols season ticket holder, said. “That is really something to be proud of.” Cheek took the podium to share stories about Summitt with the crowd. “Pat Summitt is a Tennessean by birth and a Tennessee Volunteer by choice,” Cheek said. Catchings, a current WNBA star, said she relished the chance to share how she, and her fellow players, were impacted by Summitt’s presence. “For all of us, we learned what it takes to be a leader, what it takes to be a great woman, what it takes to be a great lady, what it takes to have character, what it takes to have poise, how not to buckle under our adversity,” Catchings said. “Thank you, Pat. Thank you for everything.” The final guest speaker, Tyler Summitt, took the podium, starting with a phrase often repeated by his mother. “Every moment is a teaching moment,” the younger Summitt said. “She’s a teacher, and I think I would get the stare today if I didn’t use today as a teaching moment.”
Following her son, Pat Summitt took the podium to a standing ovation from the audience. “I want everybody to know, that for me, today, it’s not about me,” Pat Summitt said. “It’s about everyone out here that loves the University of Tennessee. I want everybody to know how much I appreciate what’s happened here today. And I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.” To applause and cheers, Pat Summitt’s statue was revealed. Sculpted by David Adickes, the monument weighs 500 lbs. and stands 8 feet, 7 inches tall. Rather than depict the look of concentration Summitt typically wore while coaching, the sculpture sports a smile. Larry and Marty Acuff, season ticket holders for 15 years, came to honor the woman Acuff called “the one and only.” “Everybody just adores Pat and worships her,” Marty Acuff said. “We cry when we’re happy, we cry when we’re sad. Today is a mixed day. You have happy tears, but you know what she’s facing.”
PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
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On top of her game
Angela Williams
November 28, 2005
For years, Pat Summitt has been viewed by many as the queen of women’s basketball. With a 75-54 victory Tuesday over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Summitt successfully expanded her kingdom to all of college basketball. With the win – the 880th of her career – Summitt surpassed legendary North Carolina men’s coach Dean Smith for the most wins in Division I history. Though she stands alone at the top now, Summitt deflected the attention she received for No. 880. “We talk about the wins and the trophies, but it’s all about the people,” Summitt said. “The players have influenced me more than I have them.” A crowd of 13,188 showed up at Thompson-Boling Arena to watch history. Among the crowd, a number of players and coaches that helped Summitt along the way returned to Knoxville to watch. For the current crop of players, helping
secure the new win total for their coach was special. But true to Summitt’s form, she had her players focused on defeating Purdue rather than her individual achievement.
ined the surprise waiting for her after the game. Once the Purdue players cleared the floor, Summitt was honored by the NCAA. Then Lady Vols athletics director Joan Cronan and UT President John Petersen sent the crowd into cheers with the announcement that the court at Thompson-Boling would be called “The Summitt” at all future athletic events. Summitt was presented with a replica of the new court that will prominently display her name in one corner. “I had no idea,” Summitt said. “It really touches me. It is such a tremendous honor. I never would have thought of anything like that, ever. “I don’t think anyone knows how much I love this university. It was a vote of confidence for me. Having the floor named ‘The Summitt’ is one of the greatest accomplishments in my life.” The extended Tennessee family wasn’t all that filled the crowd. LSU fans left “The records was in the back of over from their game earlier in the night, minds,” senior forward Shyra Ely said. as well as Purdue fans, watched as basket“We were reminded of it all week. We ball history unfolded. Steve Metz • The Daily Beacon were able to separate it and keep our First-year LSU coach Pokey Chatman Pat Summitt hugs her mother after she made a surprise visit to focus on this game.” was among those who stayed behind to the 2005 NCAA Woman’s Basketball Tournament at ThompsonThough Summitt could see the record see Summitt honored. Boling Arena in front of her, she couldn’t have imag-
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We talk about the wins and the trophies, but it’s all about the people. The players have influenced me more than I have them.”
A Letter from: Marshall Ramsey Marshall Ramsey
Nationally syndicated cartoonist When I went to the University of Tennessee and worked for the student newspaper Daily Beacon, I’d occasionally eat at the basketball arena’s cafeteria (which was near the paper’s office). Several times, I’d notice Coach Pat sitting by herself eating so one day, I gathered up the courage to say hello. She invited me to sit down and asked me all about myself and my studies. I found out (to my surprise) she liked some of my cartoons. Then she asked me if I wanted to do that for my career. I said yes and she proceeded to give me some great life advice. I wish I had had a tape recorder! She was a TOUGH basketball coach. But I tell you, she was also one of the kindest people I met at the university. I was a fan before that conversation. I’ve been a massive one since. She was one of the most important people on campus yet she took a few minutes to lift up a random student. God bless Pat Summitt -- and all who love her. Marshall Ramsey is a former Daily Beacon cartoonist and a 1991 graduate of UT. His cartoons are nationally syndicated and have been twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
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PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
New role for Summitt as head coach emeritus Matt Dixon & Clay Seal April 27, 2012
After 38 seasons as head coach, 16 SEC titles and eight national championships, Pat Summitt stepped down as Tennessee’s women’s basketball coach. Summitt became the head coach emeritus and longtime assistant Holly Warlick was named the Lady Volunteers’ head coach on April 18. “I can tell you I have loved my work at the University of Tennessee,” Summitt said. “It’s been awesome. I can say for almost four decades, it has been a privilege to make and impact on the lives of 161 women who have worn the orange. I’m so proud of them, the Lady Vol student-athletes. It’s an honor to see them graduate and become successful young women.” Summitt won 1,098 games, the most in NCAA men’s or women’s basketball history, during her UT career that began in 1974. Every player who completed her eligibility under Summitt graduated. She announced on Aug. 23, 2011 she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type. During the 2011-12 season, her assistant coaches — Warlick, Mickie DeMoss and Dean Lockwood — took on a more active role with the team.
“I see Pat in the same role as what she did this (past) year,” Warlick said of the future. “She’s going to be a great mentor for these young women. She’s going to be there, she’s going to watch practice and be involved in on-campus recruiting, which is huge for us.” Tennessee is the only school to play in all 32 NCAA women’s tournaments. Summitt guided the Lady Vols to 18 trips to the Final Four, produced 12 Olympians and 21 All-Americans. She also coached the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold metal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. “We have grown the game of women’s basketball each and every day along the way supported by the best fans in the country. No doubt,” Summitt said. “We have managed to win some ball games and hang championship banners in Thompson-Boling Arena. I made a choice early in my career to challenge myself to step up my game each and every day. You can be sure that I will take this same attitude into my new role as head coach emeritus and continue to teach our players the same commitment.” But her impact spreads across all women’s sports. “Title IX would not be what it is because she lived it,” Joan Cronan, UT’s women’s athletic director since 1983, told The Daily Beacon.
Adam Brimer • The Daily Beacon
Pat Summitt hugs her son after winning the NCAA Women’s Championship in 2007.
“Some people preach it, but she lived it. She made Title IX happen. To me, Title IX means equal opportunity, and yes, we had equal opportunity, but where in America do they have 16,000 people average coming to a women’s college basketball game? She made Title IX work.” Hart summarized Tennessee fans’ feelings for
the legendary and beloved coach. “She is an icon who does not view herself in that light, and her legacy is well-defined and everlasting,” he said. “Just like there will never be another John Wooden, there will never be another Pat Summit.”
QUOTES FROM THE COACH
PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
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Pat Summitt dies at age 64 “Success is a project that’s always under construction.” “You can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you handle it.” “There are no shortcuts to success.” “Listening is crucial to good communication.” “Discipline yourself so no one else has to.” “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” “Make hard work your passion.” “Together we will win.” “Coaching is the great passion of my life.” “The job to me has always been an opportunity to work with our studentathletes and help them discover what they want.”
Trenton Duffer
Sports Editor
Long-time Lady Vols basketball coach, pioneer to the game of basketball, representative of UT athletics and one of the greatest coaches of all-time Pat Summitt passed away early Tuesday morning at Sherrill Hill Senior Living in Knoxville. She was 64 years old. Summitt was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in August 2011, and her fight through the disease inspired many. The “We Back Pat” campaign began shortly after Summitt was diagnosed with the disease. Summitt and her son Tyler announced during halftime of the Nov. 27, 2011 game against Baylor that they had started the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund, a foundation that made grants towards finding the cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Tyler Summitt released a statement on Tuesday morning about the passing of his mother. “Since 2011, my mother has battled her toughest opponent, early onset dementia, ‘Alzheimer’s Type,’ and she did so with bravely fierce determination just as she did with every opponent she ever faced,” Tyler Summitt said in the release. “Even though it’s incredibly difficult 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.” Summitt’s 38-year coaching career at UT is considered by many to be one of the greatest coaching tenures in sports history. Summitt went 1,098-208 (.840) as a head coach, the most wins ever by a men’s or women’s coach. Her Lady Vols made 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning eight titles and finishing second place five times. The Lady Vols also made 22 Final Four’s under Summitt. Former UT quarterback Peyton Manning said in a statement Tuesday that he wishes he could have played under Summitt. “She could have coached any team, any sport, men’s or women’s,” Manning said. “It wouldn’t have mattered because Pat could flat out coach. “I will miss her dearly, and I am honored to call her my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with Tyler and their entire family.” Summitt was inducted into the Women’s
Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. President Obama honored Summitt with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 29, 2012. “Nobody walked off a college basketball court victourious more times than Tennessee’s Pat Summitt,” Obama said in a statement. “For four decades, she outworked her rivals, made winning an aattitude, loved her players like family, and became a role model to millions of Americans, including our two daughters. “Her legacy, however, is measured much more by the generations of young women and men who admired Pat’s intense competitveness and character, as a result found in themselves the confidence to practice hard, play harder and live with courage on and off the court. “Michelle and I send our condolences to Pat Summitt’s family -- which includes her former players and fans on Rocky Top and across America.” Knoxville mayor Madeline Rogero announced on social media Tuesday morning that the Henley Bridge’s lights will be changed to orange, blue and white to honor Summitt’s legacy. A private funeral service for friends and family of Pat Summitt will be held in Middle Tennessee. A public service to celebrate the life and career of Summitt will be held in Thompson Boling Arena Thursday. Current Lady Vols head coach and longtime Summitt assistant Holly Warlick said in a statement on Tuesday that Summitt helped give her the courage to face any challenge that may be thrown at her. “She played a very significant role in molding me into the person I am, and I will forever be grateful for the genuine care, guidance and wisdom she unselfishly shared with me and so many others through the years,” Warlick said. “I’ll always treasure the laughter we shared, the stories we loved to tell and certainly those stories we embellished … She was driven to perfection and always remained true to her standards. That meant doing things the right way, no matter what. “In my eyes, there’s never been anyone better than Pat Summitt.”
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PATSUMMITT
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Pat Summitt still leaves me speechless Preston Peedon
April 27, 2012
The first time I met Pat Summitt face-toface, I nearly peed myself. It was the summer before my senior year of high school, and I had just finished my first day of work as a counselor at the Pat Head Summitt Basketball Camps. To be honest, I’m not a good basketball player and I doubt I was a qualified choice as a counselor at the camp. Luckily for myself and those in attendance, the only physical activities my job consisted of were opening the gyms, sweeping the floors, filling the water buckets and keeping track of the clock. After working nine hours at Pratt Pavillion, Tyler Summitt, myself and another friend of ours jumped into his car to drive back to his home. Once we got there and saw our other friends going towards the kitchen, we ran in to grab some food. After spreading out an assortment of snacks and effectively dirtying up what was once a spotless counter, Coach Summitt walked into the room. None of us knew she was home, and in our hunger-induced daze we didn’t notice her car parked outside. Tyler jumped up immediately and gave his mother a hug, and our other friends waved genially and greeted her with, “Hey Coach, how are you today?” She responded with the same type of enthusiasm, and then it was my time to speak. The second she had entered the room, my mind began racing around for what I should do and say. And with her attention turned completely on me, I froze. First I mumbled something incoherent; and then from sheer fright I grabbed a dish from the sink, started scrubbing it and then with my voice’s strength dropping with every word to the point that the last one was nothing more than a mere whisper, I said, “Hey Mrs. Summitt, nice to meet you.” She probably didn’t hear what I said completely, I doubt anyone could have. But she looked at me, smiled, said hello and then walked outside to see her two golden retrievers. Without even saying a word, Pat Summitt had reduced me to a scared, speechless child, something that anyone who knows me would find hard to believe. None of this is meant as an insult to coach Summitt, but rather from the very beginning it impressed upon me the awe that she can inspire in everyone. Pat, at every stage of her career, has proven time and again to be larger
than life, and there in her kitchen, she proved to the 17-year-old version of me that she commanded respect. Even without meaning to. Over the past three years, I have gone to the Summitt home, eaten dinner at her table, slept in one of the guest beds and walked her dogs, and at every moment, she has been one of the kindest people I have ever met. Her on-court stare is legendary, but her off-thecourt demeanor is disarming. In person, she is almost the opposite of the visage her scowl can create. She’s warm, kind, a doting mother, a funny storyteller and an incredible cook. But at every meeting I have ever had with her, I’ve felt that exact same awe that overtook me four years earlier. Pat Summitt gave 38 years to this university and its women’s basketball program. She came here as a graduate student from Tennessee-Martin, and after years of service she is stepping down as not only the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history, but also as a figure who will forever be revered at this school, this region and in the lives of every person she touched. Her final season was conducted the same as the previous 37. She scowled, she glared, she yelled and the end result was mostly the same — she won a lot of games. Her final game will go down as a loss to Baylor, but that does nothing to change the 1,305-game legacy that predated it. She is the greatest coach this program has ever had, and she is the greatest coach this school has ever had (sorry to all Gen. Neyland lovers). But she is also more than that; she is a symbol for what is right in college basketball. Every player who completed her eligibility under Summitt graduated. Her players and her demeanor backed up the dying idea of a true student-athlete, and for that I will always remember, respect and root for Pat Summitt. With her stepping down due to health reasons, I am conflicted on what emotions to feel. At first I am sad, as I am sure everyone else is; her illness is a tragedy. It’s one of those things that was an unexplainable turn in the road. But honestly, all I feel right now is happiness. I want to celebrate what she is and what she has done, and I think we all should take a minute to bask in the awe that is Pat Summitt. In the coming years, thousands of words will be crafted to try to describe who she is and what she has meant to this community and this school. In that future, however, I hope I can be better prepared than I was at that first meeting. Preston is a former Daily Beacon managing editor and a 2013 graduate of UT.
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A Letter from: Zac Ellis
Zac Ellis
Sports Illustrated Staff Writer The intensity that defined Pat Summitt often skirted the line between sarcasm and sincerity. In March 2011 I was a senior at the University of Tennessee and sports editor of the Daily Beacon who had been dispatched to cover the Lady Vols in the Dayton Regional of the NCAA tournament. There I watched topseeded Tennessee fall to No. 2 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight, 73-59, which halted the Lady Vols’ shot at reaching another Final Four. As the clock approached midnight, the media room in the bowels of UD Arena began to fill. Soon Summitt emerged from a dark curtain and climbed to the podium to deliver her postgame remarks. She was disappointed, she said, that her Lady Vols had been outmatched against the Irish, who had been 0-20 against Tennessee prior to the matchup. But Tennessee’s stellar season, which had featured only three losses, would ultimately fall short of a national championship. Eventually a reporter posed a question to Summitt: When did she plan to throw Tennessee back on the practice floor? How much rest would the Lady Vols get? Summitt cracked a sly smile and glanced across the room at Joan Cronan, then the women’s athletic director at Tennessee. “If Ms. Cronan would let me,” Summitt said, “we’d be out there tonight.” The gathered media chuckled. Is she serious? we wondered. With Summitt, you never knew. But those most familiar with Summitt, who amassed 1,098 wins and eight national titles in 38 seasons in Knoxville, wouldn’t put it past her to stage a late-night practice on an opponent’s floor. After all, who would dare try to stop her? For nearly four decades Summitt demanded an unrelenting standard at Tennessee, one few college athletes could meet. It’s no surprise only the best of the best ever earned the chance to play for Pat. I grew up in Knoxville and never knew a time when Summitt wasn’t dominant. She won her first national championship in 1987, the year before I was born. As a kid I ventured to Vols and Lady Vol games alike, and it never
seemed odd that the Lady Vols regularly outdrew their male counterparts in attendance. By the time Tennessee won the national championship in football in 1998 -- which launched Knoxville into relative euphoria -- Summitt had already put a bow on a three-peat of titles earlier that year. But Big Orange fans had long grown accustomed to Summitt’s excessively successful Lady Vols, the undisputed pinnacle of women’s basketball. Despite the winning – and there was plenty of it – Summitt maintained an integrity largely absent from major college athletics. She managed to run circles around other women’s programs by doing things the right way. Every Lady Vol that completed her eligibility left Knoxville with a degree. During the 2009-10 season a key player in Summitt’s rotation, center Kelly Cain, asked the coach if she could skip a road game at Alabama so she wouldn’t miss class. Summitt obliged (and the Lady Vols still beat the Crimson Tide). Another time, the coach suspended star forward Candace Parker for the first half of a road game at DePaul – all for missing curfew. It didn’t seem to matter that the contest marked a homecoming of sorts for Parker, an Illinois native. From bench player to All-American,
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She managed to run circles around other women’s programs by doing things the right way. ”
those who wore the orange and white had a standard to meet, lest incur the wrath of Summitt’s steely gaze. But perhaps Summitt’s most enviable quality was her ability to remain approachable. She was a larger-than-life figure who felt like one of us, a neighbor chock-full of sound advice and down-home charm. Immense success did nothing to alter a personality born and bred on the farms of Middle Tennessee. And as Summitt went on to raise the profile of women’s athletic everywhere, she treated each and ever person like they mattered. But for so many across the country, it was Summitt who truly mattered, evolving into a figure we won’t ever forget. Zac Ellis is a former Daily Beacon editor in chief and a 2011 graduate of UT.
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PATSUMMITT
The Daily Beacon
Column: What Pat Summitt means to a millenial Shane Switzer
Assistant Sports Editor Pat Head Summitt. Where do you begin? Summitt is the winningest basketball coach ever, men or women. Many argue she is as great if not greater than legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. Those arguments are valid, but won’t be discussed here. They have been talked about at length already. As this is a student publication, I have tried to think about the appropriate way to honor Coach Summitt for the current group of students. How to speak for them. What do they want to say? What does she mean to a group of millennial students who arrived at the University of Tennessee after she had stepped down as the head basketball coach for the Lady Vols?
For the under-30 Tennessee fans, we don’t remember very many times where we could be proud to be Vol fans. All of us were too young to remember the 1998 National Championship the football team won or the title the Lady Vols won in 1998 as well. We don’t remember the great times our parents and grandparents remember. Since 2007, the football program has run off the rails and almost a decade later is still struggling to get back on track. The rest of the athletic department, men’s basketball, baseball, softball and track and field have shown flashes of brilliance but have otherwise been pretty mediocre. For millennial Tennessee fans it has been a rough life but we always had one constant. Our North Star. Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols. No matter how bad the other sports at
Tennessee had been during their particular season, everyone knew the Lady Vols would win at least 25 games (most likely more) and would at worst only make it to the Sweet 16 in the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Summitt delivered National Championships for generations of Vol fans and she did that for millennials as well. In 2007 and 2008, the Lady Vols went back to back as National Champions, beating Rutgers and Stanford respectively. For me, those two years were fantastic. All my life I wanted to see Tennessee win a national championship and because of Summitt and her Lady Vol players, I was able to witness two titles. I felt great pride in those two championships and I imagine many millennial Vol fans share those same feelings. Summitt gave the under-30 millennial Tennessee fans the only two major National Championships we have had the chance to
celebrate. Thank you just doesn’t seem like strong enough words for those two titles. A thank you isn’t strong enough for 1,098 wins, 18 regular season conference titles, 17 conference tournament titles and eight national championships. Thank you isn’t sufficient for all Summitt did for Tennessee away from the basketball court either. But thank you is all we have. To the Summitt family and her many Lady Vols, thank you for sharing her with us. Thank you for what each of you gave to Tennessee. Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you. For Pat Summitt, on behalf of all the millennial Tennessee fans, thank you for everything you did for Tennessee. You will live forever in our hearts. We love you and we will miss you, but you will never be forgotten.