P is for ...

PAT

When you hear the word “pat” many connotations come to mind such as patting one on the head, but to me, when I hear the word “pat” there is only one thing and one person that comes to my mind – PAT SUMMITT! If you have no idea who Pat Summitt is, then I really pity you and maybe you have lived under a rock for a portion of your life. Pat, as she often told her players to call her, is, in my mind, the greatest college basketball coach of all time.

Pat grew up on a farm in Tennessee and knew the meaning of hard work from an early age. She played basketball in school and in college. She was a stand-out to say the least, so much so that she even made the 1976 Olympic Basketball Team. She has a heart and passion for the sport of women’s basketball and desires to see it excel and grow. At a very young age, Pat was offered the Head Coach position for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers women’s basketball program. At that time, the Lady Vols program was not very prestigious, as it was struggling with finances and trying to gain standings in the nation. Pat didn’t allow what their program lacked to hinder her from transforming her team in to a national powerhouse that was feared by many opponents. And it didn’t take long for Pat’s transformation of Tennessee to take place…

In four seasons under Pat’s leadership, Tennessee earned its first number one ranking in the nation and earned its first trip to the Final Four (though in 1978, it was known as the AIAW, which later became the NCAA). Pat was making a name for herself and she was still merely at youngin’ at only 26 years old!! Throughout the 1980s, the Lady Vols continued to achieve dominance by winning numerous games and countless SEC Tournament Titles; however the NCAA National Championship kept eluding the program. That all changed in 1987 when the Tennessee Lady Vols defeated powerhouse Louisiana Tech and claimed their first NCAA Championship. Fortunately for Lady Vols’ fans, the NCAA National Championships did not stop in 1987. In all total, while Pat was the Head Coach, she led the Lady Vols to an impressive EIGHT National Championships, including three back-to-back-to-back championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

The year 2011 is a year that Pat Summitt fans will never forget. Prior to the start of the 2011-2012 basketball season, Pat announced that she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. I remember when I first heard the announcement that I was in disbelief. Less than two years earlier, we had loss legendary coach Kay Yow to breast cancer. Now another giant in the sport of women’s basketball had contracted another debilitating disease. I was crushed – this couldn’t be happening to Pat, no, not heard of all people. I just couldn’t believe it, nor did I want to believe it. Sure, she wasn’t dying of cancer, but to see someone who was so intelligent, so courageous, so fierce and so passionate about a sport suffer from a draining disease, that was just hard to comprehend. But, then to surprise us all, Pat announced that although she had this disease, she was still going to try to coach and be a part of the Lady Vols program.

As much as a fan of Pat Summitt as I always have been, I had never actually seen her coach a game “live” in person. I would always watch their games on television and cheer proudly for them, especially in their heated rivalry games against UCONN. So with Pat’s announcement, I told my parents that no matter what, I had to go see the Lady Vols play and it had to be in Knoxville. Appropriately, on my birthday, November 13, 2011, my parents treated me to an early season game of the Lady Vols vs. Pepperdine at the infamous Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was in Heaven – surrounded by orange again singing proudly along to “Rocky Top”. During the game, you could tell that at times Pat would struggle, but you definitely saw the fire still raged within. Her infamous glare that she would give to her players was still very present; it even sent shivers through fans in the stands. It was an amazing experience to see Pat coach and of course see Tennessee claim another victory! Sadly, that would end up being my only game that I would be able to see Pat coach, as she ending up stepping down as Head Coach of the University of Tennessee program at the conclusion of the season in April 2012.

Even though Holly Warlick has done an amazing job with the team, it is still hard to watch a Lady Vols’ game and not see Pat. It is hard to go on to the campus in Knoxville and not see Pat or feel her presence. Yes, she still attends games and does still work-out with the team, but you can still feel her absence. The University of Tennessee and the Lady Vols’ program paid an awesome tribute to her by dedicating the Pat Summitt Plaza right outside of Thompson-Boling Arena to her. Pat will always be a Lady Vol – whether she is sitting in the stands cheering for the team or outside in the plaza watching over the arena as players and fans come and go.

Pat Summitt is a true legend in women’s basketball and college sports overall. She ended her career with an astounding record of 1,098 wins and only 208 losses. That’s an 84% win record!! You definitely didn’t want to face Pat and her Lady Vols as there was a good chance you would lose. Pat currently holds the record for most wins by any NCAA coach. Whether you like Pat or not, you have to admire her passion and heart for the sport of women’s basketball. Pat’s records will likely be broken, as in the eight national championships have already been surpassed by UCONN with nine, but isn’t that the point? Set records so someone tries to achieve them and break them? Records are meant to be broken, right? Even if her 1,098 coaching win record is beaten, no matter who may beat it, they will not be Pat Summitt. There will never be another person who has the impact on the sport that Pat did. I continue to pray for her progress as she fights this disease and pray that a cure can be found. Pat Summitt has a foundation that was founded to help the fight for Alzheimer’s and her motto is Fierce Courage – may we all have that courage to fight no matter what battle may come our way so that we can leave a lasting impact upon those around us, as well.