This statue was dedicated in 2013 to honor Pat Summitt, a legendary women's basketball coach who led the University of Tennessee eight national championships. Summitt's coaching career spanned from 1974 to 2012. During these years, Summit was one of the most influential coaches of any sport whose extended winning streaks and advocacy for the game and female athletes helped bring positive attention to the role of sports in the lives of women. The statue is 8 feet and 7 inches and was designed by Houston sculptor David Adickes. The statue was made possible by the support of 600 donors and created shortly after Summit stepped down from coaching following her diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease. To show their appreciation for Pat summitt this monument was created in order to show all of her accomplishments now this will be here forever and people can come visit the site whenever they want.
The statue was dedicated to honor Summit's efforts to lead the University of Tennessee to multiple championships while also bringing greater attention and respect for women's basketball and other competitive team sports. Pat Summitt retired with more wins and championships than any other Division I coach. Summitt began her career at Tennessee as a player from the years of 1970-1974 and she also played on a World University team in 1973.
The following year, she was named head coach of the University of Tennessee Women’s basketball team at the age of 22. She would eventually coach a World Championship team help them earn a silver medal in 1983 and from there she would coach the Women’s Olympic basketball team and lead them to their first gold medal in 1984. But her success wouldn’t stop there as she led the Lady Vols to 6 NCAA titles in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, and 1998. In 2003, Summitt became the first women’s coach to have achieved over 800 wins.
Pat Summitt's success attracted national attention in ways that also brought more attention to women's sports. In 1997, she became the first women’s coach to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 2000, she became only the fourth woman to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Before she retired, Summitt had a combined total of 1,098 wins- more than any coach in basketball history. She will forever be known as one of the greatest coaches that ever lived many people look up to her still to this day. This monument was a great thing to do for her legacy and will always be remembered and go down in history.