Honoring Pat Summitt’s Career through Numbers

Mar 21, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach emeritus Pat Summitt in the first round of the women
Mar 21, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach emeritus Pat Summitt in the first round of the women

The SEC family lost a legend when Pat Summitt passed away.  Summitt was all about winning and relationships, but her numbers go so much deeper than that.

We all knew we were in trouble when Pat Summitt stepped away from the Lady Vols in 2012.  She had been a fixture there for decades and we all knew she wouldn’t be walking away unless it was an extreme measures scenario.  Pat Summitt was all about wins and building relationships, and I think the best way to honor her is to point out how insane some of her numbers were.  Pat Summitt will be missed by all that knew her.

38

Pat Summitt took over the Lady Vols  in 1974 and retired in 2012.  That gave her 38 seasons of roaming the court in Knoxville after taking over the program at the ripe old age of 22.

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100

As in 100%.  Every single one of Pat Summitt’s players that completed their eligibility at Tennessee also graduated.  For those that don’t follow such things closely, that number is insane.  Unheard of even.

1,098

Pat Summitt won 1,098 games while she was coaching at The University of Tennessee.  That number is even more impressive when you factor in the fact that she only had 208 losses.

1996-98

There are just too many numbers in this time span to do separately.  During this stretch, Summitt completed a three-peat with her Lady Vols.  At the time it was unprecedented.

39

To cap off her three-peat, Summitt demoralized women’s college basketball.  Her Lady Vols went 39-0 to capture Summitt’s 7th national championship.

18

Pat Summitt led the Lady Vols to 18 Final Fours in her 38 seasons, an NCAA record.  For perspective:  If the goal for each season was to reach the Final Four, Summitt’s record was 18-20.  That’s just bananas.

must read: Athlon Sports Underrates SEC Football Coaches

8

Some coaches get to the biggest stages and fall flat.  That wasn’t the case with Pat Summitt.  In her 18 Final Four trips, Summitt won 8 national championships.