Thread: Pat Summitt steps down

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.

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A total class act. It's a shame she has early onset Alzheimers. Wish her the best.

She passed away in her sleep early this morning

Originally Posted by Dapper Dan

She passed away in her sleep early this morning

Wow, that went downhill fast. RIP Pat, one hell of a coach for sure.

What a great coach she was. I saw her health was declining last night but now she is past and gone. Buddy Ryan recently left us as well. So sad.

One of my favorite stories was in her last few years. Her team lost to Kentucky and she wouldn't let them use the home locker room for a long time after that. They had to earn it back.

Originally Posted by Northman

What a great coach she was. I saw her health was declining last night but now she is past and gone. Buddy Ryan recently left us as well. So sad.

It makes me wonder how long Pat Bowen has left.

In the last few years her, and many others, helped raise a ton of money for Alzheimer's research. I hope they find a cure soon.

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.

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