Coach Pat Summitt Dies at 64, Players and Sports Stars Send Tributes

FILE - In this April 19, 2012, file photo, former Tennessee women's college basketball coach Pat Summitt appears at a news conference with her son Tyler Summitt, right, in Knoxville, Tenn. Pat Summitt's rich legacy in women's basketball can be seen on the sidelines and in front offices throughout the college and professional ranks. At the time Summitt ended her illustrious, 38-season coaching career at Tennessee in 2012, 78 people who were mentored by her were coaching basketball or working in administrative positions associated with the game. Summitt died Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016. She was 64.(AP Photo/Wade Payne, FIle)

Pat Summitt, one of the most eminent basketball coaches in sporting history, passed away on June 28, one day after a report stating that her condition was worsening.

Summitt had been in an ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

“Since 2011, my mother has battled her toughest opponent, early onset dementia, ‘Alzheimer’s Type,’ and she did so with bravely fierce determination just as she did with every opponent she ever faced. Even though it’s incredibly difficult to come to terms that she is no longer with us, we can all find peace in knowing she no longer carries the heavy burden of this disease” said Tyler Summitt, Pat Summitt’s son, in a statement as part of an obituary posted on the Pat Summitt Foundation.

“She died peacefully this morning at Sherrill Hill Senior Living in Knoxville surrounded by those who loved her most,” Tyler Summitt added.

Summitt’s obituary states that she was born to Richard and Hazel Albright on June, 14, 1952, in Clarksville, Tenn. She grew up on her family’s farm as the fourth of five children. She developed her work ethic through doing chores on the farm and learned the game of basketball from her three older brothers.

For college, Summitt attended the University of Tennessee-Martin, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education. She led the women’s basketball team to two national championship tournaments and displayed evident leadership ability on the court. After graduating, she accepted a head coaching position for the women’s basketball team at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville at the age of 22, an age not much older than her players.

“For the next 38 years, the farm girl from Henrietta, Tenn., would impact the game of women’s basketball like no one in the history of the sport,” the obituary stated. “She guided the Lady Vols to eight NCAA championships, 32 combined Southeastern Conference titles and became the winningest NCAA D-1 basketball coach of all time on March 22, 2005. She was named the NCAA Coach of the Year seven times and the Naismith Coach of the Century in 2000.”