Pat Summitt Remembered As Inspiration To Generations Of Women

A state and the nation mourned the death yesterday of former University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Many are remembering the inspiration she provided to countless women.

Summitt led the Lady Vols for almost four decades, winning eight national championships and more games than any coach in Division I college basketball.

But the lessons she taught didn’t end with hoops, said Congressman Marsha Blackburn in an interview yesterday with FOX News.

“She knew how a girl could take those skills from the court, playing basketball, and utilize those to expand their career. Kind of changed their world view. Reset their horizons.”

Fans may have seen Summitt’s icy glare and fierce sideline demeanor, but many of Summitt’s players came to revere her. She told NPR’s Michel Martin in 2009 that she wanted her players to see something more — her belief in them.

“While people see my intensity, as I said, people don’t care how much you know until (they see) how much you care.”

Summitt forged those relationships through “family night” dinners, personal notes and one-on-one attention. Seventy-four of her players would go on to become coaches themselves.

President Obama cited Summitt’s strength and dignity when he awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 2012.

The president said that when he looks at his two daughters, he believes it’s because of people like Coach Summitt that they have confidence in themselves.

“When I think about my two daughters, who are tall and gifted, and knowing that because of folks like Coach Summitt they’re standing up straight and diving after loose balls and feeling confident and strong, then I understand that the impact that these people have had extends beyond me.”

Obama predicted that legacy will continue for generations to come.