Former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt died early this morning at age 64 at Sherrill Hill Senior Living in Knoxville. Summitt won eight national championships as UT coach and had "more wins than any NCAA college basketball coach in history when she was forced to retire at age 59 because of a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease." Her success "helped catapult women's basketball to popularity" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/28). Summitt's career "spanned nearly four decades and earned her a reputation as one of the toughest coaches of either a men's or women's team." Her son Tyler Summitt today released a statement on her passing (WATE.com, 6/28).
We "all owe Summitt a debt for how long she stayed in the public eye, raising money and awareness to fight an insidious disease that steals your identity before it takes your life" (KNOXNEWS.com, 6/28). Her "reach across the national and global landscape went well beyond her sport" (PHILLY.com, 6/28).
ESPN's Hannah Storm tweeted: "Every Lady Vol basketball player from 1976-2011 had the opportunity to play in at least one Final Four. #PatSummitt." The MMQB's Peter King: "RIP Pat Summitt, one of the great coaches of any game in American history." Boston Globe's Peter Abraham: "Covered a practice she ran once. She wasn't a great women's coach. She was a great coach, period." SEC Network's Gracie Blackburn: "SEC Network airing special programming all day in remembrance. Currently airing- SEC Now: Pat Summitt Remembered."
