Family, friends celebrate Summitt.

Pat Summitt’s stone-cold, intense stare was talked about often, but noticeably absent from her face on a day when she was honored. Smiles and occasional moments of blushing were the expressions of the day Sunday for college basketball’s all-time winningest coach. The University of Tennessee hosted “Pat Summitt’s Day of 1,000 Stories” at the Tennessee [...]

SEC WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT : Summitt’s slippery slope.

Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt, owner of 1,003 career victories and eight national championships, is not one to use a word like “weird.” She prefers “unique” or even “roller coaster” to put the 2008-2009 season in perspective, and those most certainly apply. But there’s no getting around the fact that this season has been just about [...]

Summitt’s impact on women’s hoops exceeds 1,000-win milestone.

In her 35 years as Tennessee’s head coach, she has been a tireless, courageous ambassador for her school — as anyone who saw her dressed as a cheerleader and singing Rocky Top at halftime of a nationally televised Tennessee men’s game two years ago might concur — and for the women’s game. As far as [...]

Summitt had nothing to fear about grand career.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe Pat Summitt was ever worried about anything. But in 1974, she was actually fearful that she might not be capable of running the women’s basketball program at the University of Tennessee. “I was absolutely overwhelmed and scared to death,” she said. Turns [...]

How Summitt reached the top.

Summitt, 56, said she never has been much for numbers or records or things like that. She likes NCAA championships, and the record eight she’s won at UT through the years is the ultimate goal. She’s more concerned with getting the most out of her current team, which after consecutive NCAA titles is young and, [...]

Summitt keeps reaching, teaching.

The coach with eight NCAA titles, the best drawing team in the country and a million-dollar salary is on the verge of a unique milestone — 1,000 wins — which could come as early as Monday. No Division I college basketball coach has won as many games. “It wasn’t like I had this grand vision,” [...]

Warlick has been part of Summitt’s climb.

Holly Warlick has been part of more Pat Summitt wins than any other player or coach – except Summitt herself. “I can’t imagine life without Holly,” Summitt said recently. Warlick follows her boss’s lead in not talking too much about being so close to 1,000 career wins. But she reflects on Summitt’s career and past [...]

Chasing 1,000: As latest milestone nears, Summitt’s focus remains same.

Summitt doesn’t say very much about the approaching milestone. Ask her about it, she drops back into what sports writers call “coachspeak.” “We haven’t even talked about that,” she will say. “Right now, I just want us to become a 40-minute team. I don’t want them focusing on a number. I want them to focus [...]

Pat Summitt Makes Tennessee a Cradle of Coaches.

It happens to every Lady Volunteers basketball player who has gone into coaching. She’ll be railing about a lazy pass in practice. Glaring at a player who failed to box out an opponent. Lecturing how leadership is about being respected, not liked. Then it hits her. She has grown up to be just like [...]

Winning Down Pat.

Coming off back-to-back national championships but losing five starters, this year’s Lady Vols are relatively inexperienced. That’s all right with Summitt; her favorite part of being a coach is teaching. “I love practice,” says the winningest coach in NCAA history (male or female). “I love teaching. You remember your best teachers—the ones who really took [...]