Free Republic

One of the best college basketball coaches of all time has died. Pat Summitt led the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers for almost four decades. DAVID GREENE, HOST: A legendary basketball coach has died. Pat Summitt took over as head coach at the University of Tennessee at age 22. By the time she retired at 59, she'd won a record number of games - more than a thousand. And Linda, you interviewed her not so long ago, right? LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST: That's right. In 2013, she was suffering from dementia. And that is the disease that cut her career short....

Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who helped boost the women's game to the big time in a 38-year career at Tennessee, has died at 64.

WASHINGTON – Pat Summitt, the former head coach of the University of Tennessee’s women’s basketball team, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced Thursday. Summitt, the winningest coach in basketball history, announced her retirement Wednesday after coaching the Lady Volunteers for 38 years. Summitt was diagnosed less than a year ago with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.(Snip) The Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It is presented annually to people who have made exceptional contributions “to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public...

After a storied 38-year career, Pat Summitt is stepping down as head coach of the Tennessee women’s basketball team to become a coach emeritus with the program. Lady Vols associate head coach Holly Warlick will be named the new head coach. Summitt said that she met with Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart and Warlick on Wednesday morning to finalize the transition. She said that the decision was hers and she’s comfortable with it.

CLEVELAND — After a night of hard-nosed, — blue-collar work, Tuesday officially went down in Tennessee women’s basketball history as a banner day. In the days leading up to a 59-46 victory over Rutgers at Quicken Loans Arena, various Lady Vols struggled to explain what winning a national championship would mean. They were very familiar with the effort involved, however, parlaying a gritty defense and dominant rebounding into the salvation for suspect scoring. Candace Parker led three double scorers with 17 points, hitting four consecutive free throws inside the final two minutes as Tennessee (34-3) pulled away down the stretch...

Pat gets 900th win By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer January 19, 2006 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee coach Pat Summitt didn't have to wait long to get her 900th career victory. Shanna Zolman led five Lady Vols in double figures with 16 points, and top-ranked Tennessee rallied from its biggest deficit this season in beating No. 19 Vanderbilt 80-68 Thursday night, giving Summitt her 900th win in her first shot at the milestone. Tennessee (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) had never gone through a first half without leading at least once until this game, and the Lady Vols...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Pat Summitt stands alone at the top of NCAA basketball. The Tennessee coach broke Dean Smith's career victory record Tuesday night, getting No. 880 in the Lady Vols' 75-54 win over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Summitt tied Smith at 879 with an easy win over Western Carolina in the first round Sunday night and passed the former North Carolina men's coach with another convincing victory. Summitt improved to 880-171, while Smith was 879-254 when he retired in 1997 after 36 years with the Tar Heels. Top-seeded Tennessee (28-4), seeking its seventh...