Patricia Head Summitt was born on June 14, 1952 in Henrietta, Tennessee, the daughter of Richard and Hazel Albright Head. She was the fourth of five children and the first girl. Having a no-nonsense disciplinarian for a father, competing with three older brothers and growing up on a family farm that required a tremendous amount of hard work, toughened 'Tricia' as she is known back home. During her childhood she went to school, attended the Methodist church, worked the fields, and played basketball in the hayloft with her brothers. In the Head family, good work was expected, not praised. Excuses weren't accepted and laziness wasn't tolerated. She was taught to be self-sufficient. Pat said, "I don't mind being tough because my dad was tough. I don't mind showing affection because my mother showed affection."
Coach Summitt graduated from Cheatham County High School in Ashland City, Tennessee. In 1974, she received her B.S. in physical education from UT-Martin and led the Lady Pacers to a 64-29 record over four years. She was the co-captain of the 1976 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team and won a silver medal; as an international coach she brought home the first USA women's basketball gold medal in Olympic competition in 1984.
During her extraordinary career as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers (Lady Vols), Pat Summitt has coached Tennessee to eight NCAA National Championships, and amassed an enviable career record of 1071-199 as of March 28, 2011, a winning percentage of 84 percent, and she has won 109 of the 131 NCAA tournament games in which her teams have competed. She has led the Lady Vols to 30 consecutive NCAA tournaments, every one since the women had a tournament, and produced NCAA championships in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, and 2008. She holds an NCAA tournament record for most wins, standing alone among her peers as the preeminent women's basketball coach in America.
On January 14, 2003, she became the first...
