Pat Summitt Remembered as a Trailblazer
‘She outworked her rivals… and became a role model to millions of Americans,’ President Obama said.
Wade Payne/AP
After news broke Tuesday morning that legendary Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt had passed away at age 64, colleagues, sports players, and celebrities took to social media to remember the winningest coach in NCAA history.
Summitt won eight NCAA championships as head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team from 1974 to 2012. She was the first NCAA coach to win at least 1,000 games, and coached the U.S. women’s national team to a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.
In 2011, Summitt announced that she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Her son Tyler Summitt issued a statement on Tuesday saying his mother died peacefully at Sherrill Hills retirement facility in Knoxville.