Summitt is a major player in women’s sports

An NCAA championship is seen as the ultimate accolade for college coaches. Winning more than one is something very few can brag about as it almost never happens. But Tennessee women’s head basketball coach Pat Summitt can claim eight championships, the most in women’s college basketball, including back-to-back titles in the past two seasons. Additionally, Summitt has 983 career wins, which makes her the winningest coach in college basketball history ahead of Hall of Fame coaches like Bob Knight, Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.

Despite the awards and recognition, Summitt seems to take a backseat at times to many athletes in the history of women’s sports such as Serena and Venus Williams, Billy Jean King, Marion Jones, Danica Patrick and Lisa Leslie. Summitt has done much to improve and grow the visibility of women’s college basketball. Although Summitt is not quite a household name, she has not risen to the level of fame of those athletes because of her low key and humble demeanor and because she is a coach and not an athlete. She has been able to establish herself as one of the best coaches in the profession but has not been a prominent marketer but more concerned about her program and her players. With her success in winning games and championships, she should have even greater recognition than she has received at this point. She has improved the image for the women’s game in the media and it has spread the popularity across the nation. However, it is safe to say that women’s basketball would not be where it is today if not for her.

Since beginning her career as head coach at the age of 22, Summitt has enjoyed tremendous success with the Volunteers. She has won numerous awards, including being a seven-time recipient of the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Coach of the Year awards in addition to leading her team to 14 conference championships. To put her in context with another basketball legend, Summitt surpassed John Wooden’s former record of 13 Final Four appearances in 2001-2002. To date, her team has made the semi-finals of NCAA tournament 18 times. Summitt also proudly institutes a strong policy of her players receiving an education and has been able to boast a near perfect graduation rate for all her players since her time as coach. Her illustrious career has seen little error and has been unmatched by many in the field, whether it be in the women’s or men’s game.

Several of those in the coaching and media seemed to share the same sentiments about Summitt and the strides she has made in advancing women’s athletics.

“I think (Summitt) is a very influential person,” said University of La Verne women’s basketball head coach Julie Kline in an e-mailed interview. “Her involvement is the community is admirable, her ability to lead young people is evident, and her willingness to speak in so many different forums and her professional achievements make her very influential.”

Kline also insists that she has set the standards very high and does not go away from them which set her apart in being very successful in their profession.

“She is a role model for other coaches to follow. Success is measured in many different ways, not just in wins and losses. There is a bigger picture with athletics and she gets it,” Kline said.

Mike Strange, a sports columnist for the Knox News Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn., wrote a column on April 5, 2007 about Summitt’s achievements being unmatched in the world of sports.

“I would have to say she is one of the most influential women in sports at this time,” Strange said in an e-mailed interview. “Summitt has been constant for more than two decades. She won her first NCAA title in 1987 and is still going strong.”

Strange also thinks that Summit’s values and traits have been a big part of what she has been able to establish on her teams.

“Discipline and intensity have been trademarks of her own background,” Strange said. “That certainly toughened her up and she demands those commitments from her players. Tennessee will rarely be outworked. Defense and rebounding are byproducts of hard work and they are the basis of her program.

John Shearer, a contributing writer for the chatanoogan.com, a newspaper based in Tennessee, wrote about Summit’s rise to the top in his article on April 6, 2007.

“It doesn’t surprise me that she became such a great coach,” Shearer told me on Tuesday. “I think she was a real good player and has good leadership. She was kind of born to be a coach.”

Shearer also agrees with the notion that Summitt has been instrumental in raising women’s sports to another level.

“I definitely rank her as one of the giants in women’s sports,” Shearer said. “She has been real good as far as gaining popularity for the sport.”

As a coach, Summitt has done a lot for not just women’s college basketball but for women’s sports in general. Many years ago, the national media would not even care to cover women’s basketball let alone other sports. Now, because of her longevity and success at such a high level, Summitt has set an example of what it takes to take women’s sports to new heights. The respect for her in the sports industry is enormous and for good reason. Just on her prestige and name alone, women’s college basketball has received much more media attention, new fans and much more visibility to the public. She has led the way for women’s sports to continue to grow into the next decade with her contributions to college basketball and eagerness to speak on different issues facing the advancement of women’s sports. Undoubtedly, this makes Summitt a major player for women’s sports now and in the future even though her fame has not reached a high level just yet.