Quest to a 1000; Coach Pat Summitt

AS HEAD COACH: Overall record of 983-182 in 34 years, all at Tennessee. International coaching record is 63-4 for a complete coaching record of 1046-186.

BEFORE UTK: Summitt was a student-athlete at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE Played at Cheatham County H.S. (Ashland City, Tenn.), 1967-70, where she was a four-year starter and was named as a TSSAA All-District 20 Tournament selection in 1970; at UT-Martin, 1970-74, she led the Lady Pacers to a 64-29 record, two trips to the national championship tournament (1972 and 1973) and graduated as UT-M's all-time leading scorer (1,045 points). She was the co-captain of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team (silver medal), 1975 World Championship Team, 1975 U.S. National Team to Taiwan, 1975 Pan American Games Team (gold medal), and the 1973 U.S. World University Games Team (silver medal).

PERSONAL INFORMATION Patricia Sue Head Summitt, age 56, born June 14, 1952; graduated from Cheatham County High School, Ashland City, Tenn., 1970; received B.S. in physical education from UT-Martin, 1974; received M.S. in physical education from UT-Knoxville, 1975; has a son by the name of Ross Tyler Summitt, born Sept. 21, 1990; home is Knoxville, Tenn.

Overall Record: 36-2
Defeated Stanford 64-48 in NCAA Title Game
On April 8, 2008, the Tennessee Lady Vols captured their eighth national title, defeating Stanford 64-48. Incredible defensive pressure by UT forced 25 Cardinal turnovers which the Big Orange converted into 26 points.

"They came out with a great mentality to play hard, especially on the defensive end," Pat Summitt said. "On offense, we got more people involved, but it was our defense that got it done."

Tennessee standout Candace Parker scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Lady Vols capture their second straight championship, but unlike earlier games in the tournament when she had to carry the Lady Vols, her supporting cast came through. Shannon Bobbitt scored 13 points and Nicky Anosike added 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals for the Lady Vols. Freshman Vicki Baugh had eight points before tearing her ACL in the second half.

Bobbitt scored all of her points in the first half as the Lady Vols jumped out to a 37-29 advantage. Trailing by one early, Tennessee used a 13-4 run to take a 17-9 lead midway through the half. Bobbitt hit two three-pointers and made a nifty layup to cap the spurt. The teams traded baskets before two free throws by Bobbitt gave the Lady Vols a 35-25 lead - their biggest of the half.

Parker didn't shoot nearly as many jumpers as usual, instead taking the ball to the basket on an array of moves. She converted one steal in the second half into a pretty layup that gave the Lady Vols a 10-point advantage. She then followed it up with a three-point play on a driving layup. The Cardinal, who had a season low for points, would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. With the game in hand and a minute left, Parker went to the Tennessee bench for the final time, holding up four fingers on each hand to signify the eight titles the Lady Vols have won.

"One is disputable, but two, you can't stumble onto two national championships, so we're pretty good," Parker said.

Recently Coach Pat Summitt underwent surgery to repair an injured shoulder. The story here is not that Coach Summitt survived surgery, but rather how she got to this point to begin with.

Summitt had offseason shoulder surgery, not for a sports injury but because of a tussle with a raccoon.

The winningest basketball coach in NCAA history had problems with her right shoulder after dislocating it while chasing a raccoon poised to attack her Labrador.

Let's not give the raccoon too much credit here. Chasing a raccoon away is about as strenuous a task as looking for the remote control. But don't ask her to do that, either. You're just going to find her sprawled out on the floor with a broken hip, with the remote somehow jammed into her chest like a wooden stake. Again.

Lost in the shuffle of chasing that thar racoon was the simply normality of who some would consider the best in the game. Often people reach these pinnacles of success and appear to be virtually untouchable, but Coach Summitt is one of us. A normal southern gal who still finds the need to chase the racoon's out of her yard to save a good friend.

We love you Coach Summitt!