Before the two Super Bowl wins, the five Most Valuable Player awards and the countless victories, Peyton Manning was just a freshman at the University of Tennessee when he first met the Volunteers women’s basketball coach, the legendary Pat Summitt. From that first introduction in 1994, Manning and Summitt developed a friendship that would grow as the two continued to establish their legacies as some of the all-time greats in sports history.
“It would have been a great experience to play for her,” Manning said. “She could have coached any team, any sport, men’s or women’s. It wouldn’t have mattered because Pat could flat out coach.”
Summitt, who passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 64, led the Lady Volunteers to 1,098 wins in 38 seasons as their head coach. Her career record also includes 31 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and eight national championships.
Though the numbers tell an enormous part of Summitt’s legacy, she is also remembered for the impact she left on her players, the fans, the entire college basketball community and by her competitive spirit that only intensified when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago.
This legacy, this manner in which she lived, is how Manning remembers her.