Pat Summitt Coaches 800th Victorious
Game
by Jennifer Block
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| Winners,
All: (l to r) Tye'sha Fluker, Coach Summitt,
Tasha Butts, Ashley Robinson, and Courtney McDaniel
(Photo by Wade Payne/AP Photo) |
A Title IX
success stoty wherein imitation is the sincerest proof
of Summitt-ry.
It's the 800 number coaches dream
of, and early this year-- January 14, to be specific--
Pat Summitt earned it: coaching 800 victories in NCAA
Division I college play. She's only the fourth person--
and the first woman to accomplish this. As head coach
of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers for
28 years (and counting), she's already seen six NCAA
titles, 21 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships,
and 17 Final Four matches. In 1998 she became the
first women's coach to grace the cover of Sports
Illustrated; in 2000 she was named Naismith Coach
of the Century, and that same year she was inducted
into the Basketball Hall of Fame. And dribble this:
She's coached 11 Olympians, 16 Kodak All-Americans,
55 all-SEC performers, and the Naismith Player of
the Century, Chamique Holdsclaw. How does she do it?
Some say it's tough love, others say it's the infamous
"Summitt Stare." Whatever. She's got it,
and winning isn't the only thing that moves her; mentoring
matters, too. Summitt's a stickler for academics--
if you cut class, you don't play. Every Lady Vol leaves
U of T with a degree. Plus, 23 of Summitt's players
have gone on to become collegiate coaches themselves.
So it's not unusual for her to face her own proteges
across the court. "I'm really proud of all the
players who've done well in the coaching ranks,"
Summitt told Ms. "How fortunate I've
been to be at a university that supported women's
basketball; I can't say enough about what U of T did
when Title IX was passed."
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