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The World Honors Pat Summitt, As Well It Should

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(If that video isn't working for you, you can find it here.)

Lady Vols icon exiting with dignity and class ... and at the right time - CBSSports
Meantime, I'll be thinking of Coach Summitt, too, and what I'll always take away from this announcement is how she handled the situation -- this incredibly unfortunate situation -- the same way she handled everything, i.e., with dignity and class. She's not going to hang on too long like legends tend to do. She's walking away at the right moment and before anybody has a chance to whisper (or yell) that it's time, and now I hope she'll be able to spend the rest of her life cherishing and remembering all the people she's impacted and things she's accomplished for as long as humanly and medically possible.

Pat Summitt's final season both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring - Ann Killion - SI.com
Summitt was honored as SI's Sportswoman of the Year in December and in Denver at the Final Four. She is stepping down just weeks before the 40th anniversary of Title IX. She reshaped the athletic hierarchy, becoming the winningest coach -- male or female -- in history. She put an early face on women's athletics, women's strength and determination. And she put a face on something more this year. Her legacy was already as rich and deep as any in sport. In the past eight months, she has added a deeper, human layer. Pat Summitt has showed us how to win. How to lose. And how to fight.

Summitt made basketball matter at football-crazed Tennessee - NCAA Basketball - SI.com
One cannot overstate the respect Summitt demanded from the Tennessee family. When NCAA violations arose in other sports, Vols fans shook their heads and said "Pat wouldn't do that." When postseason appearances became few and far between for other teams, fans shrugged and said "Pat wouldn't settle for that." When Tennessee searched for a new athletic director, as the school did last fall, fans suggested with sincerity "Maybe Pat would do that."

1970 - Classic Photos of Pat Summitt - Photos - SI.com
Pat Summitt, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history, stepped aside at Tennessee on April 18, taking the title of head coach emeritus. Here are some classic photos Summitt, who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee-Martin.

Pat Summitt, a true class act, did what was best for UT | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
By stepping down, Summitt ends one of the most remarkable coaching careers in any sport. She won 1,098 games, the most ever by an NCAA basketball coach in either the men’s or women’s game. Her teams won eight national championships, the most recent in 2008. Her annual salary went from $8,900 upon arrival in 1974 to a total compensation package of $1.5 million this year. But mere numbers tell only a small part of her story. She was a pioneer whose success and personality created opportunities in sports for other women.

Timeline: Pat Summitt through the years " GoVolsXtra
June 14, 1952: Born in Clarksville, Tenn., daughter of Richard and Hazel Albright Head.

UT students on Summitt: sadness, support and admiration " GoVolsXtra
From die-hard sports fans to those indifferent to athletics, University of Tennessee students expressed sadness at the decision of Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt to step down.

John Adams: Coaching trumped other opportunities for Pat Summitt " GoVolsXtra
Throughout her career, you have heard what else Summitt could have done. There was no reason to doubt any of those possibilities. She was so capable. So popular. So driven to succeed at whatever she did. Why couldn't she have coached the men's team? Why couldn't she have been the UT athletic director? Why couldn't she have been elected governor? Yet she kept doing what she seemingly has done forever. She kept coaching women's basketball.

Bruce Pearl, Phillip Fulmer share love, respect of Pat Summitt " GoVolsXtra
Bruce Pearl said he probably wouldn't have painted his chest orange on behalf of any other coach but former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. Phillip Fulmer said he never hesitated to ask Summitt to deliver motivational speeches to his team, and many of his coveted football recruits wanted to meet her on their official visits. Both of the former UT coaches were quick to share their sentiments after learning on Wednesday that Summitt stepped down from her coaching post after 38 years, eight national championships and 1,098 victories. Summitt will accept a position as head coach emeritus, which will allow her to work with players in a non-coaching capacity.

Former players know they owe a lot to Summitt " GoVolsXtra
A tweet allows for just 140 characters. Lady Vols guard Kara Lawson, who played 1999-03, didn't come close to that limit when she tweeted "Thank You Pat Summitt!" But Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker did. Catchings, a four-time All-American at UT 1997-2001 tweeted "@patsummitt GREATEST coach ever!!! Stepped down today but never too far. Luv ya Pat! Congrats to Holly Warlick." Candace Parker, who led UT to national titles in 2007 and 2008, tweeted: "4 yrs removed from UT I still hear 'PARKER REBOUND!' in my head during games ... Thanks Coach Pat, I love you! #OnceALadyVolAlwaysALadyVol"

ESPN’s Coverage Plans Surrounding Summitt " ESPN MediaZone