Pat Summitt Plaza and Monument

The statue was dedicated to honor Summitt's efforts in leading the University of Tennessee to multiple championships while also bringing greater attention and respect for women's basketball and other competitive team sports played by women. Pat Summitt retired with more wins and championships than any other Division I coach. Summitt began her career at the University of 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 went on to lead 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 gained valuable attention and advocacy to inequalities in 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. In 2012, Summitt was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. She will forever be known as one of the greatest coaches that ever lived, and many people look up to her to this day. This monument will commemorate her impressive legacy in sports and as a trailblazer for women in her field.