Nothing but a Class Act: A Pat Summitt Tribute

It's no longer a matter of if Pat Summitt reaches 1,000 career wins as a coach. It's just a matter of when.

That enormous milestone could be reached tonight as the No. 15 Lady Vols travel to Norman to take on the No. 2 Lady Sooners.

No matter the outcome of tonight's game, one thing is certain: Pat Summitt has paved the way for so many young women that want to coach.

She started her coaching journey in 1975. Since then, Summitt has won 999 games and counting and only lost 186. Group that with 13 SEC Tournament titles, 14 SEC regular season championships, and eight National Championships, and you have coaching numbers that can't be topped by any other coach in any sport.

For as impressive as the numbers are, the way she carries herself and leads her groups of young ladies is that much more impressive.

In the 30-plus years Summitt has been coaching, not once has Summitt been hit with some sort of a scandal that the media tries to come up with.

Over the years, her players have had nothing but great things to say about her both on and off the court.

In this ever-changing nation that is becoming more and more equal, let's not forget what Pat Summitt has done for thousands of females.

Summitt transcended basketball for young women like Jackie Robinson did for African-Americans in baseball.

In the 1970s, coaching was almost always done by a man, even in women's basketball.

Title IX, the historic amendment that said no one could be excluded from the participation of sport on the basis of sex, had just been passed a mere four years prior to her coaching debut.

My, how times have changed. As 2009 is upon us, not only is Summitt the most winning coach in women's college basketball, but in men's college basketball as well.

Summitt likely has many more years of coaching left, which leaves plenty of room for many more SEC and national championships.

I don't see any other coach in our lifetime coming anywhere close to what Summitt has accomplished both on and off the court.

So here's to you, Mrs. Pat Summitt. Thanks for providing us with some of the best leadership that college sports has and ever will see.