The Sports World lost who some consider to be the Greatest College Basketball Coach of All Tim: Tennessee Coach: Pat Summitt.
I really enjoyed hearing her friends and colleagues remember her. One of the stories one of her friend told was that she started out as a head coach at about 22 or 23 years old. She started with the grand salary of $250 per month.
An Article in the New York Times said:
In football country, she made $250 a month to coach basketball and attend graduate school. She held a doughnut sale to help pay for the team uniforms, which she washed herself. Her team once slept on mats at an opponent’s gym because there was no money for a hotel. (New York Times
She went on to coach for 38 years, won 1,098 games (more than any man or woman) won 8 championships, and was the first million dollar women’s college.
Another great story someone told was that when she was offered the job to coach Men’s Basketball she said, “Why is that considered a promotion?”
Accomplishments
She was a co-captain of the 1976 women’s Olympic team, which won a silver medal, then guided the United States to gold as head coach at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
As Mentioned before, won the most games of any college coach (1,098)
8 NCAA Championships
Notable Quotes
“I am who I am,” Summitt said. “I will not compromise. No one is going to talk me into doing something I don’t want to do, when I know what I have been doing is by the book.”
Impact and Legacy
Coach Summitt lost her battle with Early Onset Dementia but who she is to women’s sports will live on for years to come. She is thought of as the greatest basketball coach of all time: male or female but the biggest accomplishment to me was summed up in the last quote and that ALL of her players graduated.
Thank you Coach Summitt!!
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