The Latest: Geno: Pat Summitt had 'indelible impact' on game

June 29, 2016 at 3:20AM
Teresa Olive, of Knoxville, Tenn., touches a statue of Pat Summitt as she pays her respects at the University of Tennessee, on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women's game from obscurity to national prominence during her career at Tennessee, died Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016. She was 64. (Caithe McMekin/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Teresa Olive, of Knoxville, Tenn., touches a statue of Pat Summitt as she pays her respects at the University of Tennessee, on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women's game from obscurity to national prominence during her career at Tennessee, died Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016. She was 64. (Caithe McMekin/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Latest on Pat Summitt, the former Tennessee women's basketball coach who died Tuesday at age 64. (all times local):

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7 p.m.

The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers honored Pat Summitt with a moment of silence before their game at Yankee Stadium. A picture of Summitt holding a basketball was displayed on the giant video screen in center field, with her name in script lettering and the dates 1952-2016.

In his message to the crowd, public address announcer Paul Olden called Summitt "one of the most accomplished and influential figures in the history of women's sports."

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6:50 p.m.

Dana Hart, the president of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, said the facility had about six times more visitors Tuesday than it normally receives on a summer Tuesday.

Hart said most of the visitors were interested in seeing the exhibits surrounding Pat Summitt, who played a major role in bringing the Hall of Fame to Knoxville. Without Summitt, Hart says the Hall might not exist even.

A giant wreath was placed in front of Summitt's plaque in the Hall of Fame's "hall of honors," which includes all the inductees. The Hall of Fame also added a booth in the gift shop that included photos and memorabilia from Summitt's career.

The Hall of Fame named its south rotunda after Summitt last year. Hart said the original idea was to name the entire building after the former Tennessee coach, which Summitt nixed.

Hart says Summitt said both the game and the hall is bigger than one person before finally agreeing to allow one area be named after her.

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3:40 p.m.

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt helped create one of the greatest rivalries in women's basketball.

The teams played 22 times from 1995-2007, winning a combined nine national championships in that span. UConn finished the series with 13 wins.

Auriemma says "one would be hard-pressed to name a figure who had a more indelible impact on her profession than Pat Summitt."

He says Summitt "set the standard for which programs like ours dreamed of achieving, both on and off the court. Our sport reached new heights thanks to her success, which came from an incomparable work ethic and a larger than life, yet, compassionate personality."

Summitt ended the series after the 2007 season.

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3:10 p.m.

Former Texas coach Jody Conradt says it was evident early in Pat Summitt's career that she would "leave her footprints on our game."

Conradt retired in 2007 with 900 career victories and had the first undefeated national championship team in 1985-86. She says she'll "always cherish" her 30-plus year friendship with Summitt, "especially in a business that doesn't always breed genuine friendship."

Summitt started her coaching career at Tennessee at age 22. Conradt says her "passion, her fire, her love and knowledge of the game, put her in an elite class of coaches."

North Carolina coach Roy Williams echoed those sentiments, noting Summitt belonged on "a Mount Rushmore of coaching."

He sent his daughter Kimberly to Summitt's basketball camp when he coached at Kansas because he wanted her to be influenced by the legendary coach.

Williams says "we lost one of the true giants in coaching, in any sport and regardless of gender."

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2:40 p.m.

LSU coach Nikki Caldwell Fargas played for Pat Summitt at Tennessee and worked alongside her on the Lady Vols' staff before matching wits against her mentor on the sideline.

Fargas says many Tennessee players in the past five days came to say goodbye to Summitt in Knoxville. She says it helped them through the "going home" grieving process.

She's among the nearly 80 people mentored by Summitt who went on to coach or work in the game. Fargas won national titles as a player (1991) and assistant (2007, 2008) at Tennessee.

She says the players from different eras and different sports understand "we're all going to be responsible for carrying this charge."

Fargas has a 165-97 record with six NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons as a head coach, first at UCLA and now at LSU.

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1:50 p.m.

A Celebration of Life Service honoring Pat Summitt will be open to the public on July 14.

A representative of the family says the event will begin at 7 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus.

That's where Summitt won many of the games that made her the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history. The court is named "The Summitt."

Her son Tyler Summitt says a private funeral and burial will be held in Middle Tennessee.

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1:15 p.m.

Sen. Lamar Alexander was president of the University of Tennessee when Pat Summitt coached the Lady Vols to the 1989 NCAA title.

The Republican senator of Tennessee says it's hard for people outside the state to understand how much Summitt became a part of the lives of so many citizens.

Alexander says "she took time for community events" and "we all felt we not only knew her — we knew the athletes as well."

Tennessee athletic director and vice chancellor Dave Hart adds that Summitt "is synonymous with Tennessee," and "a global icon who transcended sports and spent her entire life making a difference in other peoples' lives."

"She was a genuine, humble leader who focused on helping people achieve more than they thought they were capable of accomplishing."

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12:05 p.m.

Fans placed flowers, cards, orange-and-white balloons and basketballs at the foot of Pat Summitt's statue on the Tennessee campus across the street from Thompson-Boling Arena.

Many fans walked by Pat Summitt Plaza and took pictures of the statue that shows Summitt standing and smiling rather than displaying her trademark glare.

Sandy Sutton of Louisville, Tennessee, says "we knew this day was coming, it was just way too soon."

Sutton says she wanted to have daughters so they might play for Summitt, but she had sons.

Wearing an orange Lady Volunteers T-shirt, Sutton brought Easter lilies from her garden. She says the flowers are "just like Pat — homegrown."

She adds she's "probably going to cry all day. She was an outstanding Tennessean. Everything about her just brought inspiration to all of us."

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11:10 a.m.

President Barack Obama says Pat Summitt's legacy is measured by the legions of young women and men who admired her competitiveness and character.

Obama calls the legendary coach a "patriot" and notes she earned Olympic medals for the country as a player and coach.

He says he was honored to give Summitt the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony in 2012.

Obama says even as Alzheimer's started to rob Summitt of her memory in a brave and public fight against the disease, she maintained grace and perspective.

He says he and Michelle are sending condolences to Summitt's family, former players, fans on Rocky Top and across America.

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10:10 a.m.

Tennessee women's basketball coach Holly Warlick calls the impact Pat Summitt had on her life "profound."

Warlick was a player and assistant coach for Summitt before taking over the program after Summitt stepped down in 2012.

Warlick says she had the opportunity to "not only learn from the best, but know Pat as a friend" and says she'll "always treasure the laughter we shared, the stories we loved to tell."

Carolyn Peck, now associate head coach at Vanderbilt, started her coaching career at Tennessee despite having played at in-state rival Vanderbilt.

She says on a Nashville radio station, 104.5 The Zone, that the rest of the competition "measured their program by how you could compete with Tennessee."

Peck went on to coach Purdue to the 1999 NCAA title.

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9:40 a.m.

Former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer calls Pat Summitt "a great person, loving mother, passionate coach and loyal friend."

Fulmer coached from 1992-2008 during Summitt's tenure and says they had "wonderful personal times talking about life, our respective teams, or helping each other recruit."

Fulmer says Summitt's greatest legacy "may well be through the Pat Summitt Foundation and her role in leading the battle against Alzheimer's."

Current Tennessee football coach Butch Jones says he "stands in awe of Pat and what she accomplished on and off the court."

He says Summitt "wanted every player that left the program to be prepared for the next stage of their life."

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9:10 a.m.

A public memorial service is being planned for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

That's where Summitt won many of the games that made her the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history. The court is named "The Summitt."

Her son Tyler Summitt says a private funeral and burial will be held in Middle Tennessee.

Knoxville mayor Madeline Rogero tweeted that the lights at Henley Bridge in downtown Knoxville will be changed to orange, white and blue Tuesday night "in remembrance of Coach Summitt's deep devotion to Knoxville."

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8:20 a.m.

Joan Cronan served as the Tennessee women's athletic director from 1983-2012 and helped Pat Summitt put women's basketball on the map.

Cronan says "the legacy she leaves is immense. Her players, who all have college degrees, have been enriched by her teaching. They are coaches, professors, television personalities, businesswomen, all now making a difference in their world because of Pat Summitt."

Summitt announced in 2011 that she was battling early onset dementia. Cronan called her the "most courageous person I've ever known in fighting this disease" and she was "determined to make a difference" in bringing attention to it.

Cronan is currently the women's AD emeritus at Tennessee. She says there "will never be another Pat Summitt. She belongs to the ages now and we are sad but so fortunate to have called her a colleague and friend."

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7:30 a.m.

Peyton Manning is remembering his friend Pat Summitt.

He says she "was always very supportive of my career and I enjoyed seeing her back at a Tennessee football game or when she would come to Indianapolis to see Tamika Catchings play."

Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who helped boost the women's game to the big time in a 38-year career at Tennessee, has died. She was 64.

Manning played football at Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to the 1997 SEC championship his senior year.

"She was one of the people I consulted with following my junior year when I was deciding whether to turn pro early or stay in college. She gave me some very valuable advice during that time. My teammates and I went to a lot of Lady Vols games when we were in school, and I really enjoyed watching her teams play."

The recently retired Denver Broncos quarterback says he will "miss her dearly, and I am honored to call her my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with Tyler and their entire family."

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6:30 a.m.

Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who helped boost the women's game to the big time in a 38-year career at Tennessee, has died at 64.

With an icy glare on the sidelines, Summitt led the Lady Vols to eight national championships and prominence on a campus steeped in the traditions of the football-rich south until she retired in 2012.

Her son, Tyler Summitt, issued a statement Tuesday morning saying his mother died peacefully at Sherrill Hill Senior Living in Knoxville surrounded by those who loved her most.

Tyler's statement said "since 2011, my mother has battled her toughest opponent, early onset dementia, 'Alzheimer's Type' ... and we can all find peace in knowing she no longer carries the heavy burden of this disease. "

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