Tennessee women's basketball icon Pat Summitt dies at 64
Last edited Tue Jun 28, 2016, 07:14 AM - Edit history (2)
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Another American sports icon now belongs to the ages in legendary University of Tennessee women's basketball coach emeritus Pat Summitt, who died Tuesday at age 64 in Knoxville, Tenn., after a nearly five-year battle with early onset Alzheimer's disease.
"It is with tremendous sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Patricia Sue Head Summitt," her son Tyler Summitt said in a statement.
Her condition had declined in recent weeks, and a television station in Knoxville reported that she was moved Saturday night from an assisted living facility she entered in late March to a hospice, where Ms. Summitt 's final hours were spent. The cause of her death was not immediately made public.
Ms. Summitt's Hall of Fame head coaching career spanned 38 years from 1974-2012. She compiled a 1,098-208 record - with more victories than any NCAA Division I coach, man or woman - and her teams captured eight NCAA titles.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20160629_Tennessee_women_sbasketball_icon_Pat_Summitt_dies_at_64.html
RIP. We all knew this was coming for a while, unfortunately, but still a sad day for basketball fans. Condolences to her family and the athletes she coached.
Every single freshman-starting player she had graduated (except IIRC one who died). This needs to be the standard we hold coaches to.
Ilsa
(61,690 posts)riversedge
(70,047 posts)stonecutter357
(12,693 posts)underpants
(182,585 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)But more importantly someone who inspired her athletes.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)the way she did. She was always in charge.
RIP
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I can't overstate how much I admire that.
klook
(12,151 posts)She cared about her student-athletes, not as cogs in the sports machine, but as human beings. And she inspired them to success as players and women.
rurallib
(62,373 posts)a true pioneer.
May she rest in peace.
DinahMoeHum
(21,771 posts)Back in 1976, when women's basketball was added to the Olympic events (and back then she still had her maiden name Pat Head), she was a player on the USA women's team that won the silver medal.
In 1984, she was head coach of the USA women's team that won the gold medal in Los Angeles.
Rest in Power and in Peace, Ma'am.
I am sure the women's basketball team going to Rio will dedicate their efforts to your memory.
BumRushDaShow
(128,372 posts)Saw a breaking news banner earlier this morning about this.
Here in Philly, given Pat worked with local Dawn Staley, this is a big punch in the gut.
R.I.P. and condolences to her family.
sinkingfeeling
(51,434 posts)Stuart G
(38,405 posts)hueymahl
(2,447 posts)Up there with absolutely the best in the business, no matter the sport.
I did not know about the graduation rate. That blows my mind and makes her record so much more impressive.
Rest in Peace, coach Summitt.
rpannier
(24,327 posts)Cross over gently
Great coach. Great woman
I remember way back when she was compared to Dean Smith
VA_Jill
(9,940 posts)And many who do not live there are Tennessee in their hearts. Rest well, Pat. You have fought the good fight, you have run the race, you have kept the faith. We have lost not only a coach (because no matter who coaches the Lady Vols, Pat will always be The Coach), we have lost a leader, an inspiration, and a friend. Tennessee will never be quite the same.
Go Big Orange!
Sissyk
(12,665 posts)And Lady Vols!
She has been missed from the very beginning of her illness, and always will be! One great Lady and Coach.
ProfessorGAC
(64,827 posts)She cemented it as a major spectator sport with her charisma, her success, and the success her graduating players had, even before there were pro outlets for their game.
Athletes not causing trouble; athletes on the Academic All America teams pretty much every year; and she changed the way the women's game was played.
A truly wonderful coach and person.
TNNurse
(6,924 posts)I never played basketball. I saw her coach. I watched her career. I loved that her teams did so well. I really loved that if you played basketball for 4 years for Pat Summitt, you were a member of a winning team. You were also a college graduate.
Uncle Joe
(58,270 posts)Thanks for the thread, Recursion.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)fishwax
(29,148 posts)Beacool
(30,247 posts)She was an inspiration to all girls and women who play the sport. My condolences to her family.
Rest in peace, Pat.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)for women, young women, men, everyone!
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)when she thinks back on her career she sees faces not numbers. She made a big difference in a lot of young women's lives. She is revered here in TN
colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)Bowie/Prince/Ali/now Pat Summitt.
I am stunned how quickly she left us after her diagnosis. 64 is just too young.
We need to find a cure for that cursed disease that causes you to lose your sense of self before it kills you....and early onset, like Pat had, is horribly cruel.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)You shaped many athletes into phenomenal people.