1,098 wins, 8 NCAA titles, vast impact
A look back at the career of Patricia Sue Head Summitt, the women’s basketball icon who stepped down Wednesday as Tennessee coach: June 1952: Born in Clarksville, Tenn. May 1974: Accepts the women’s basketball head coaching position at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville while still a senior at Tennessee-martin and then known as Pat Head.
January 1975: Gets first win as Tennessee coach, 69-32 against Middle Tennessee State; 53 spectators were there.
July 1976: Co-captains the USA’S Olympic silver medal team.
January 1979: Defeats North Carolina State 79-66 for her 100th win.
February 1980: Wins the first of 16 Southeastern Conference titles.
August 1984: Coaches the USA to an Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles.
March 1987: Defeats Louisiana Tech 67-44 for her first NCAA championship.
April 1989: Defeats Auburn 76-60 for her second NCAA championship.
September 1990: Gives birth to only child, a son, Ross Tyler Summitt.
November 1993: Defeats Ohio State 80-45 for her 500th win.
November 1997: Tennessee-martin names its basketball court Pat Head Summitt Court.
March 1998: Defeats Louisiana Tech 93-75 to complete a 39-0 season and win a sixth NCAA title.
1999: Inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
October 2000: Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
March 2002: Reaches the Final Four for the 13th time, passing UCLA men’s coach John Wooden for most appearances in NCAA history.
January 2003: Defeats Depaul 76-57 for her 800th win, becoming the first women’s basketball coach to reach the milestone.
March 2005: Defeats Purdue 75-54 in the second round of the NCAA tournament for her 880th victory, becoming the winningest basketball coach in NCAA Division I history, men or women. Thompson-boling Arena’s court is named The Summitt.
May 2006: Receives a $1 million salary, the first college women’s basketball coach to receive that deal.
April 2007: Celebrates her seventh national championship, beats Rutgers 59-46.
April 2008: Defeats Stanford 64-48 for her eighth and last national championship. Captures back-to-back titles for the second time.
April 2008: Given the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching lifetime achievement award, becoming the first women’s coach to earn the honor.
February 2009: Celebrates victory No. 1,000, 74-43 against Georgia.
August 2011: Reveals she has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, but will continue to coach.
November 2011: Begins 38th season at the helm of the Lady Vols.
March 2012: Loses to eventual national champion Baylor 77-58 in the Elite Eight in her final game, marking the first time a senior class at Tennessee failed to reach at least one Final Four.
April 2012: Is named Tennessee’s women’s basketball coach emeritus, the university announces. Holly Warlick, a player on Summitt’s first team at Tennessee and a member of the Lady Vols coaching staff since 1985, is promoted to head coach.