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RIP Pat Summit – Another Legend Has Been Taken From Us

ByMike Regalado|
Jan 19, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; The Tennessee Lady Volunteers wear t-shirts with the words We Back Pat in recognition of the Pat Summit Foundation before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; The Tennessee Lady Volunteers wear t-shirts with the words We Back Pat in recognition of the Pat Summit Foundation before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Legendary Tennessee Women’s Basketball coach Pat Summit has passed away at the age of 64 after her battle with Alzheimer’s.

It is a very sad day in the sports world, especially if you are a fan of college basketball. A legend has been taken from us as former Tennessee Women’s Basketball Head Coach Pat Summit passed away this morning.

After a five-year battle with Alzheimer’s, Summit died early this morning at the age of 64 at the Sherrill Hills retirement facility in Knoxville, Tennessee surrounded by her friends and family.

This is a difficult time, but it is also a time to celebrate the life that Summit lived. She was not just a great women’s basketball coach, but a great basketball coach, period! As the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history with 1,098 wins (among all men’s and women’s programs) , Summit proved that fierce determination and dedication can lead you on a path to greatness.

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In her 38 years at Tennessee, she won 8 national championships, 16 SEC titles, 16 SEC Tournament Championships, was an 8-time SEC Coach of the Year, 7-time NCAA Coach of the Year, the Naismith Coach of the 20th Century. On top of that, she won gold at the 1984 Olympics as the Head Coach of the USA Women’s Basketball team.

Being supporters of UCLA Basketball, Bruin fans know how incredible these accomplishments were. Needless to say, she was the Greatest of All Time.

She was no pushover either. Summit had one goal in mind at that was to win. She was tough, plain and simple. Summit never rested until she got the job done. She was such an incredible force that she once took over a Tennessee Men’s basketball practice because they were not showing the hustle she thought was necessary.

What she did in her lifetime, like the great John R. Wooden UCLA fans know and love, may never be matched. Yes, it is a sad day, but it is also a great day to celebrate who she was and what she did for the great state of Tennessee and college basketball. The word “Epic” comes to mind.

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From all of us at Go Joe Bruin, Rest In Peace, Coach.

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