i am sassa

Just this past Sunday, Pat Summit’s record for most victories in Division I Women’s basketball was tied. She coached the Tennessee Lady Volunteers for an incredible thirty-eight years without a single losing season, collecting 1,098 wins. I didn’t know this before I painted her, but I’m pretty stoked I painted her while she still held that honor.

The Vols played in uniforms that had been bought with the money from a doughnut sale. When Pat started coaching, she took them home and washed them herself. By the end of her career, she was one of the most respected coaches of all time, and she definitely wasn’t washing uniforms anymore. She was credited for the advancement of women’s basketball, and women’s sports in general by every single person I heard speak about her today.

Pat retired from coaching when she was 59 years old. She was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and died only five years later. She bravely stayed in the public eye for as long as she possibly could, choosing to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s research. I watched Pat’s Celebration of Life service while I painted, and a couple themes emerged from the speakers of the event. One was that she stressed that she would not always be naturally the best, but she would always work harder than her opponent. This is apparent in her accomplishments. She was a silver medalist on the US Women’s Basketball team, and later coached the team to a gold medal. She was number 11 on the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time list in Sporting News in 2009 (and was the only woman on the list). She is in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (one of six halls of fame she is in), and was named Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century this year. She was named NCAA Coach of the year seven times, and coached her team to eight national titles. She’s even earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom. These are just a few of the more notable awards.

The second theme that emerged from the speakers is that Pat was not just in it for the wins. She so genuinely cared about the character of her players. Their personal stories were so touching. They all seemed to think of her as a mother, despite the fact that she pushed them hard and glared holes through them on the court. Of all the impressive statistics and awards she won in her life, there is one that shows how much she cared about her players as people, and I find it mind-blowing. In thirty-eight years as a coach, Pat Summit’s players has a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT graduation rate. Every single player graduated. Thirty-four of them went on to play in the WNBA, and it seems that all of them are better people for having known her.

Thank you, Pat Summit.