Pat Summitt

Lifetime Achievement Award

Pat Summitt, head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team, is the career victory leader among all coaches in NCAA Div. I basketball history (men’s or women’s) with 970 victories. During her tenure, the Lady Vols have won 7 NCAA titles, as well as a combined 26 Southeastern Conference tournament and regular season championships.

In 1999, Summitt was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2000, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Her program was honored as the “Team of the Decade” (1990s) by ESPN. In 1990, Summitt was the first female to receive the most prestigious award given by the Hall of Fame, the John Bunn Award. Summitt was also enshrined in the Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in 1990 and in 1996 was inducted into the National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s Hall of Fame.

Additionally, Summitt holds or has held the following positions: current Associate Athletics Director at the University of Tennessee; past vice-president of USA BASKETBALL;past Olympic representative on the Advisory Committee to USA BASKETBALL; member of the Board of Trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; and member of the Board of Directors for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Summitt also has a brilliant international coaching record. One year after playing on the U.S. Olympic team, Summitt coached the first U.S. Junior National Team in 1977 winning 2 gold medals. In 1984 Summit was named the U.S. Women's Olympic basketball coach winning the gold medal.

Coach Summitt has both authored and been the subject of books, including the 1998 motivational best seller,“Reach For The Summit,” and “Raise the Roof,” a book that recapped the undefeated 1998 season.

Despite her busy schedule, Pat catches as many of her 16-year old son Tyler’s high school basketball games as possible and coached his 2007 AAU basketball team.