Pat Summitt steps down

Knoxville News Sentinel ^ | April 18, 2012 | Dan Fleser

[deoetdoctrinae]

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.

[deoetdoctrinae]

What an amazing woman and an equally amazing career. Best wishes Pat, as you face health issues with the same determination and resolve as you have with every facet of life up until now.

[Perdogg]

ping

[deoetdoctrinae]

During her career, which began with the 1974-75 season, Summitt coached Tennessee to eight national championships. She finished this season with 1,098 career victories and stands alone at that victory plateau among all NCAA coaches.

[Biggirl]

Both Coach Summitt and Coach Geno Auriemma of UConn both put women’s collge basketball on the map.

[ScottinVA]

God bless her for staring adversity in the face and refusing to step aside, but on her own terms.

Ms. Summitt is a true inspiration.

[Tallguy]

Both Coach Summitt and Coach Geno Auriemma of UConn both put women’s collge basketball on the map.

Ditto that! If you ever want to watch athletes really "bust it" watch either of those 2 teams. They always leave it all out on the floor. You very seldom see men's teams defend as tenaciously on a consistent basis.

[T-Bird45]

I’ll grant you that she has shown courage and personal grit in facing her diagnosis. Watching the NCAA Women’s BB tournament with her on the game sidelines was painful because it was so clear she was not herself and the assistants were running the team. The disease had already named its terms and they were non-negotiable. Coach Summitt was not a factor beyond moral support for her team and to receive the same from the team, along with the best wishes from her professional peers.

[libstripper]

It’s a ghastly disease. We should all pray for this great lady.

[WashingtonSource]

There’s nothing worse than Alzheimer’s I am convinced. I’ve seen its devastation up close both on the person who had it and all their loved ones. Crippling, hideous disease that destroys the dignity of the patient and devastates the lives of caregivers.

[libstripper]

My father had it and it destroyed his relationship with my mother, to whom he had been married for 62 years. It’s one of the vilest diseases imaginable.