Pat Summit - Women in Sports
Thomas Courtney
May 12, 2011
Patricia “Pat” Summitt was born June 14, 1952, in Clarksville, Tennessee. Pat is currently head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team and is renowned for many different achievements including being the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history out of any division in both men’s basketball and women’s basketball. She is one of the most successful and most achieved coaches out of coaches in any sport, holding over 1000 victories under her coaching record and she is even listed as number 11 in the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time.
Pat grew up with four siblings, three older brothers named Tommy, Charles and Kenneth, and a younger sister named Linda. Growing up with three older brothers her whole life led Pat to take an interest in athletics at an early age. She loved the game of basketball ever since she was a child and when Pat went into high school she and her family were forced to move from Clarksville to Henrietta due to the fact that Clarksville did not have a women’s basketball team and Cheatham County in Henrietta did. Pat played throughout high school and in her senior year she got into the University of Tennessee-Martin. Although all three of her brothers received athletic scholarships to go to college, Pat did not due to the fact that Title IX was not passed yet and there were no scholarships available for women in 1970. She played on the women’s basketball team at the University of Tennessee which is called the Lady Vols. While studying at the University of Tennessee Pat became a member of a notable sorority called Chi Omega. She also won All-American honors playing under the coaching of the Universities first women’s basketball coach, Nadine Gearin. Being coached by the school’s first women’s basketball coach Nadine Gearin definitely had a strong impact on Pat Summit in becoming a women’s basketball coach as well. At 22 years old Pat Summitt became a graduate assistant at the University of
May 12, 2011
Patricia “Pat” Summitt was born June 14, 1952, in Clarksville, Tennessee. Pat is currently head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team and is renowned for many different achievements including being the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history out of any division in both men’s basketball and women’s basketball. She is one of the most successful and most achieved coaches out of coaches in any sport, holding over 1000 victories under her coaching record and she is even listed as number 11 in the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time.
Pat grew up with four siblings, three older brothers named Tommy, Charles and Kenneth, and a younger sister named Linda. Growing up with three older brothers her whole life led Pat to take an interest in athletics at an early age. She loved the game of basketball ever since she was a child and when Pat went into high school she and her family were forced to move from Clarksville to Henrietta due to the fact that Clarksville did not have a women’s basketball team and Cheatham County in Henrietta did. Pat played throughout high school and in her senior year she got into the University of Tennessee-Martin. Although all three of her brothers received athletic scholarships to go to college, Pat did not due to the fact that Title IX was not passed yet and there were no scholarships available for women in 1970. She played on the women’s basketball team at the University of Tennessee which is called the Lady Vols. While studying at the University of Tennessee Pat became a member of a notable sorority called Chi Omega. She also won All-American honors playing under the coaching of the Universities first women’s basketball coach, Nadine Gearin. Being coached by the school’s first women’s basketball coach Nadine Gearin definitely had a strong impact on Pat Summit in becoming a women’s basketball coach as well. At 22 years old Pat Summitt became a graduate assistant at the University of
Bibliography: 1) Summitt, Pat Head, and Sally Jenkins. Reach for the summit: the definite dozen system for succeeding at whatever you do. New York: Broadway Books, 1998. 2) Summitt, Pat Head, and Sally Jenkins. Raise the roof: the inspiring inside story of the Tennessee Lady Vols ' undefeated 1997-98 season. New York: Broadway Books, 1998. 3) 1974, the time Summitt graduated from UT-Martin in, and then could knock the lights out over a zone defense.. "Player Bio: Pat Summitt University of Tennessee Athletics ." University of Tennessee Women Athletics . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/summitt_pat00.html>. 4) 2005–06, Candace Parker had recovered from her injuries, became a starter. During the season, LSU, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee received a number two seed instead of the one seed Summitt believed her team deserved, played North Carolina in the regional finals. Tennessee trailed from the beginning, and but ultimately fell 75-63.. "Pat Summitt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Summitt>. 5) "Pat Summitt - Coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team News for Knoxville, TN from GoVolsXtra." GoVolsXtra.com: University of Tennessee sports news from The Knoxville News Sentinel. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/topic/pat-summitt/>.