Pat Summit Roundup: 1098 Wins, A Pair of Losses, and a Life in Perspective – Book Review

Pat Summit is the legendary thirty-eight-year-old head coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball program, Lady Vols. Under his leadership, the team won eight NCAA championships. Summit also holds the record for the most NCAA Division I wins by any coach, male or female, 1098.

In late spring 2011, doctors diagnosed Summit with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She recounts her life in her new book, “Sum it Up.”

Richard and Hazel Head of Henrietta, Tennessee, raised Patricia (Trisha), the fourth of their five children, born June 14, 1952. The Heads, agricultural experts, established a 1,200-acre farm, growing their main tobacco cultivation.

The Head brothers worked hard on the farm when they weren’t in school. Recreation often included playing basketball in the barn; using the iron basketball hoop his father built in the haystack. Summit’s siblings didn’t let her relax during games, which influenced her competitive drive.

Summit left the farm to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin, modeling a Pygmalion story. Her roots in the countryside (including a blue sweater paired with a turtle-print blouse), morphed into acceptance of the Chi Omega sorority and a new identity as “Pat.”

She joined the UT-Martin girls basketball team, long before Title IX (the pioneering law requiring equal educational opportunities for both genders, including sports participation); which made playing conditions archaic, including run-down sports venues, poor travel, and accommodation.

Opportunity knocked on the door and Summit responded when, at the age of twenty-two, she became the head coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team.

On November 13, 1976, the Lady Vols made their debut at UT’s Stokely Athletic Center. His name evolved from the nickname of the Tennessee Volunteers men’s team.

Summit shares stories of her competitive nature that helped lead Lady Vols to eight national championships.

At sixteen, he was enjoying the neighborhood boys’ drag races along country roads lined with cornfields. Once, during her early days as a coach, she challenged a driver who interrupted her. “If you want to stop you, we can figure it out right now,” he said.

In April 1977, Summit met Ross Barnes (RB), an attractive and successful banker from nearby Sevierville. She made him wait four years before marrying him to make sure he accepted her demanding coaching career.

Their marriage lasted 27 years, until Summit inadvertently found a text message on his cell phone from another woman. His betrayal hurt, considering Summit took pride in being home as much as possible to do family chores and not to mention basketball. A year passed before Summit divorced RB, unable to forgive her transgression.

“I never claimed to be perfect. I did it right for so long, and when I was wrong, I didn’t meet their standards,” says RB Summit.

Six miscarriages occurred at Summit. She says her greatest achievement is not any of her coaching records, but her only son, Tyler, who is twenty-two years old.

Tyler’s education in basketball led to his appointment as an assistant coach at Marquette University. Their mother-child relationship is unbreakable, even at a distance.

During his thirty-eight year career at UT, Summit trained 161 Lady Vols. Not all the players accepted her demanding training style; and 34 transferred to other schools. Some African American women particularly did not like taking orders from a white woman from the South.

Under his leadership, Lady Vols boasted a 100 percent graduation rate. Players were asked to sit within the first three conference rows for visibility, and cutting the class resulted in being benched in the next game.

“Tennessee wasn’t for everyone and everyone wasn’t for Tennessee,” Summit says.

Today, coaching tactics are under scrutiny for verbal and physical abuse towards players; and Summit showcased its share of worthy media attention.

Once, after a loss, he asked players to practice in their sweaty uniforms and socks. On another occasion, the defeated Lady Vols returned to campus at 2 am. Summit immediately called a team meeting in his office to review the game tape; and then had the players practice at 4am for two hours. She also warned them not to miss the 7:50 am class.

“Retirement with an r” defines Summit’s coaching career today. She appreciates the UT administration for working with her to find a workable role in the team and sport she loves. Her official title is “Emeritus Trainer”.

In the midst of his illness, Summit says, “God doesn’t take things away by being cruel. He takes things away to make room for other things.”

Images, honors, records, milestones, and player updates complement Summit’s story. It also explains his controversial decision to end the popular series against rival University of Connecticut (UCONN).

You don’t have to be a basketball fan to appreciate Summit’s story. Her optimism and determination to reinvent her life while living with a chronic illness is inspiring.

Pat Summit endorses the book “Hope For the Flowers”, a message of hope, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2012-2013. Visit: http://www.hopefortheflowers.org.