The University of Tennessee announced today that head women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, the all-time wins leader among NCAA basketball coaches, has been named head coach emeritus following 38 seasons (1974-2012) and 1,098 victories at Tennessee. Summitt will report to Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart and will serve in a variety of endeavors. In that capacity, she will continue to serve the women’s basketball program and its coaching staff and as a liaison to the Director of Athletics, remain involved in on-campus recruiting, and serve as a personal mentor to players, including life skills coaching.

Associate head coach Holly Warlick, an assistant on the Tennessee staff for 27 seasons and a three-time All-American as a player for the Lady Vols, has been named Summitt’s successor and will assume head coaching duties for the Tennessee women’s basketball program.

“I’ve loved being the head coach at Tennessee for 38 years, but I recognize that the time has come to move into the future and to step into a new role,” said Summitt. “I support Holly Warlick being named the next head coach, and I want to help ensure the stability of the program going forward. I would like to emphasize that I fully intend to continue working as head coach emeritus, mentoring and teaching life skills to our players, and I will continue my active role as a spokesperson in the fight against Alzheimer’s through the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.

“If anyone asks, you can find me observing practice or in my office. Coaching is the great passion of my life, and the job to me has always been an opportunity to work with our student-athletes and help them discover what they want. I will continue to make them my passion. I love our players and my fellow coaches, and that’s not going to change.”

The all-time wins leader among college basketball coaches, Summitt finishes her 38-season career at Tennessee with a 1,098-208 record and an .841 winning pct. The Lady Vols won an unparalleled eight national championships under her leadership (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, and 2008) and played in 13 national championship games. Tennessee also won the SEC Championship and SEC Tournament title 16 times each, and Summitt was named SEC Coach of the Year eight times and NCAA Coach of the Year in seven seasons. Her sixth national championship team, the 1997-98 team, finished a perfect 39-0.

Additionally, the Tennessee women’s basketball team has reached the NCAA Final Four 18 times, tied with the UCLA and North Carolina men for the most all-time by a college basketball program. Summitt’s 18 trips to the Final Four is the most all-time among coaches, and her eight national titles trails only the 10 won by former UCLA coach John Wooden in Division I college basketball. Including the years as a member of the AIAW and four Final Four trips between 1977-81, Tennessee played in a combined 22 Final Fours overall during Summitt’s tenure. The program has appeared in 25 NCAA Regional finals, posting an 18-7 record, and the Lady Vols are 48-1 all-time in NCAA First and Second Round games.

“It is extremely difficult to adequately express what Pat Summitt has meant to the University of Tennessee, the sport of basketball, and the growth of women’s athletics nationally,” said Hart. “She is an icon who does not view herself in that light, and her legacy is well-defined and everlasting. Just like there will never be another John Wooden, there will never be another Pat Summitt. I look forward to continuing to work with her in her new role. She is an inspiration to everyone.

“Holly Warlick has earned the opportunity to be the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee and to lead the Lady Vol program she has embraced as a player and a coach. I watched Holly grow tremendously as a coach throughout this past season. Under unique circumstances, the job she did away from the glare of the lights and crowds was as impressive as the job she did during game action. At this time in our historic program, which Pat Summitt built from scratch, Holly Warlick, the former player and longtime assistant coach, is deserving of the head coaching position. Her mentor will be available for insight and advice, but this is Holly’s team now.”

Warlick, who recently completed her 27th season as an assistant coach for Tennessee and her 31st overall with the program as a player or coach, is the first head coach of the Lady Vols other than Summitt since 1974, when Margaret Hutson completed a four-year tenure as the leader of the program (1971-74). Named associate head coach before the 2003-04 season, Warlick has been on the Tennessee coaching staff for all eight NCAA titles, and as a player or assistant, she has a role in 949 of Summitt’s 1,098 victories at Tennessee.

“I’m very thankful for all Pat Summitt has done to prepare me for this opportunity,” said Warlick. “She is my coach, mentor, and great friend, and I am honored with the opportunity to continue and add to the great tradition of this program. I’d like to thank Dave Hart, Chancellor Cheek, and the University for having confidence in me to lead the Lady Vol program, and we will work as hard as we possibly can with the goal of hanging more banners in Thompson-Boling Arena.”

Warlick originally joined the Tennessee athletics program as a scholarship 400-meter track athlete and a walk-on to the basketball team. A three-time All-American as a point guard at Tennessee, Warlick led Tennessee to three AIAW Final Fours as a player (1977, 1979, 1980) and held numerous school records upon the completion of her playing career in 1980, including most assists in a season and a game, most steals in a game, and most games in career. Warlick was the first Tennessee athlete, male or female, to have her jersey retired at the end of her career in 1980.

Warlick was inducted the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and in October 2002, she was a member of the second induction class of the University of Tennessee Lady Vol Hall of Fame. She also served two seasons each as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech (1981-83) and Nebraska (1983-85).

Under Summitt’s leadership, Tennessee is the only school to appear in all 32 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments since its inception in 1982, Tennessee has posted more NCAA Tournament victories (112) and has played in more tournament games (135) than any other college basketball program. The Lady Vols have earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament 21 times, including nine consecutive from 1988-96.

Additionally, the Tennessee program has produced 12 Olympians, 21 State Farm All-Americans named to 36 different teams, including 2012 All-American Glory Johnson. Lady Vol players have also received All-SEC accolades on 120 occasions.

Summitt was the head coach of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Basketball team that captured the gold medal in Los Angeles. On Oct. 13, 2000, she was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility and was inducted along with former NBA greats Isiah Thomas and Bob McAdoo, high school coach Morgan Wootten and contributors C.M. Newton and Danny Biasone.

Summitt added to a remarkable career of accomplishments and accolades during the 2011-12 season, when she was named Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year, an honor she shared with SI Sportsman of the Year Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke men’s basketball head coach who has won more games all-time than any other coach in men’s college basketball. The NCAA also named Summitt this year’s recipient of the 2012 NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award, which is named after the 38th President of the United States and annually honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics over the course of their career.

A 1974 graduate of UT Martin with a degree in physical education, Summitt earned her master’s degree in physical education from UT Knoxville in 1975. Her son, Tyler, was a member of the men’s basketball team who graduates with a degree in communications studies from UT Knoxville this May.

The Pat Smmitt File

Career Record: 1,098 wins and 208 losses
Born: June 14, 1951 in Clarksville, Tenn.
Children: Ross Tyler Summitt, born Sept. 21, 1990

Education:

B.S., Physical Education, UT Martin, 1974
M.S., Physical Education, UT Knoxville, 1975

Playing Career:

1970-74 UT Martin
1973 U.S. World University Games Team
1975 Pan American Games Team
1975 World Championship Team
1976 U.S. Olympic Team (co-captain)

Coaching Career:

1974-2012, University of Tennessee Head Coach
1977 U.S. Junior National Team
1979 Pan American Games Team
1979, 1983 World Championships Team
1980 U.S. Olympic Basketball Assistant
1984 U.S. Olympic Basketball Head Coach

Tennessee Basketball Under Pat Summitt

.                           Regular            Post                 Overall

Year                     Season             Season             Record            Finish

1974-75               11-6                5-2                16-8               State

1975-76               12-8                4-3                16-11             2^nd State

1976-77               20-3                8-2                28-5               3^rd Final Four

1977-78               22-2                5-2                27-4               1^st AIAW Poll

1978-79               22-7                8-2                30-9               3^rd Final Four

1979-80               25-3                8-2                33-5               2^nd Final Four

1980-81               16-5                9-1                25-6               2^nd Final Four

1981-82               17-8                5-2                22-10             Final Four (3^rd)

1982-83               21-6                4-2                25-8               Regional Final

1983-84               19-8                4-2                23-10             Final Four (2^nd)

1984-85               18-9                4-1                22-10             Regional Semifinal

1985-86               21-8                3-2                24-10             Final Four (3^rd)

1986-87               22-5                6-1                28-6               NCAA Champions

1987-88               25-2                6-1                31-3               Final Four (3^rd)

1988-89               27-2                8-0                35-2               NCAA Champions

1989-90               23-4                4-2                27-6               Regional Final

1990-91               23-4                7-1                30-5               NCAA Champions

1991-92               24-2                4-1                28-3               Regional Semifinal

1992-93               27-1                2-2                29-3               Regional Final

1993-94               26-1                5-1                31-2               Regional Semifinal

1994-95               27-1                7-2                34-3               Final Four (2^nd)

1995-96               23-4                9-0                32-4               NCAA Champions

1996-97               21-9                8-1                29-10             NCAA Champions

1997-98               30-0                9-0                39-0               NCAA Champions

1998-99               25-2                6-1                31-3               Regional Final

1999-00               25-3                8-1                33-4               Final Four (2^nd)

2000-01               28-1                3-2                31-3               Regional Semifinal

2001-02               24-3                5-2                29-5               Final Four (3^rd)

2002-03               26-3                7-2                33-5               Final Four (2^nd)

2003-04               25-2                6-2                31-4               Final Four (2^nd)

2004-05               23-4                7-1                30-5               Final Four (3^rd)

2005-06               25-4                6-1                31-5               Regional Final

2006-07               27-2                7-1                34-3               NCAA Champions

2007-08               27-2                9-0                36-2               NCAA Champions

2008-09              20-9                 2-2                22-11             1^st Round

2009-10              27-2                 5-1                32-3               Regional Semifinal

2010-11               28-2                6-1                34-3               Regional Final

2011-12               21-8                6-1                27-9               Regional Final

 TOTALS            873-155          225-53        1,098-208

Sponsored by the UT Office of Alumni Affairs, the event is open to the public and begins with a 5:30 p.m. reception and then a 6:00 p.m. program.

The cost is $20 per person and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. A cash bar will be available. Participants may register at www.volsconnect.com/holdsclaw. Registration closes Sunday, April 8. Contact the UT Office of Alumni Affairs at 865-974-3011 for more information.

Attendees will have an opportunity to meet Holdsclaw prior to her talk.

She helped lead the Lady Vols to three consecutive national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998, a landmark achievement in NCAA women’s basketball. She also helped lead Tennessee to two SEC regular season titles in 1998 and 1999, and three SEC tournament championships in 1996, 1998, and 1999.

During the 1999 WNBA Draft, Holdsclaw was selected first overall by the Washington Mystics. She went on to play for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Atlanta Dream.

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C O N T A C T S:

Terry Johnson (865-974-3011, tjohns72@utk.edu)

Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)

The Thornton Center provides academic support, educational programs, and a learning environment in which student-athletes have the opportunity to achieve their academic and personal goals.

“Donna has worked hard during the past six months to make some important changes at the Thornton Center and to strengthen the bridge between academics and athletics,” said Susan Martin, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “I’m pleased that she’ll be permanently taking the reins to ensure the Thornton Center continues to be a positive influence on the lives of our student-athletes.”

In the past six months as interim director, Thomas restructured and reorganized the Thornton Center staff, added new programming and services for the student-athletes, and began updating the facility. She spent a great deal of time speaking to groups across campus to learn more about academic programs while sharing insight on the requirements for students who represent Tennessee in twenty sports.

In addition to her new duties of overseeing the center, Thomas will continue to maintain her role as chief operating officer for the Lady Vols while Joan Cronan assumes the duties of interim vice-chancellor/director of athletics.

While at UT, Thomas has been responsible for numerous aspects of the women’s athletics department, some of which include oversight of facility construction and renovation, managing the Lady Vols’ portion of the adidas contract, development and implementation of department policies and procedures, and oversight of the scheduling of competition for all sports. She is the department liaison to the campus, serving as a member of multiple campus committees.

In July 2011, Thomas will complete a two-year term as co-chair of UT Knoxville’s Council on Diversity and Interculturalism. She recently served as a member of the search committee for the assistant dean and director of undergraduate admissions, and she was the department liaison to the Thornton Center for Academics and Student Life.

At the request of UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, Thomas served as a member of the campus’s Task Force on Civility and Community and was an integral member of the committee for the Celebration of African American Achievement.

Off campus, Thomas has served as the chair of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee, directed multiple championship events for the SEC and the NCAA, and serves as the university’s senior woman administrator with the SEC.

Thomas first joined the UT staff as the undergraduate head manager of the Lady Volunteer basketball team from 1978 to 1982 while working toward her bachelor’s degree in secondary physical education. She then returned to Tennessee in 1990 as a graduate assistant in athletic administration and earned her master’s degree in recreation and athletic administration.

During her time away from UT, Thomas served as the director of recreation ministries for Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis from 1982 to 1990. At CUMC, she managed the athletic and activity program of the 5,000-member church; her responsibilities included program development and planning for ages 2 through senior adult.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

Mayor Bill Haslam made the announcement that Summitt would be honored after she won her 1,000th game as the Lady Volunteers coach last February.

Pat Summitt poses with her new star on the Riverwalk of Fame along with Knoxville Mayor and Governor-elect Haslam (l) and Susan Williams (r)

Each person on the Riverwalk will be honored with a large star that will include their name as well as a small, but significant, symbol of what that person did that made a difference in people’s lives. In Summitt’s case it was a basketball.

“We’re all proud of Pat Summitt and always happy to have an opportunity to let her know how much she means to us,” Haslam said. “She’s a great choice to be the person honored with this first star on the Riverwalk.”

The Riverwalk of Fame — which will stretch along Volunteer Landing — will honor people from Knoxville and the surrounding area who have made a great mark nationally or internationally and in doing so, brought honor to East Tennessee. The honorees can range from writers, musicians, actors, athletes and coaches to scientists, astronauts, statesmen and others of note.

It’s anticipated that there will be one ceremony annually at which up to three people would be inducted into the Riverwalk of Fame. Summitt, however, will be the only person honored during this initial ceremony.

Susan Richardson Williams approached the City of Knoxville early last year with the concept of a Riverwalk of Fame honoring accomplished individuals from Knoxville and East Tennessee. She also suggested to both the city and the University of Tennessee that Summitt would be a great first honoree.

Summitt was a 21-year-old senior at the University of Tennessee-Martin which she was offered the UT job in the spring of 1974. Less than a year later she directed UT to a 69-32 win over Middle Tennessee State University on January 10, 1975, for her first win as the Lady Vols coach. At the time she was also attending graduate school, teaching a full load of classes and getting ready to play for the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics.

Since then her UT teams have won eight NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships, she coached the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team to an Olympic gold medal and all of her players who have completed their eligibility at UT have earned their degrees.

Tennessee Athletics and the Mission of Hope will team up Tuesday, Dec. 1 to collect toys for this year’s Mission of Hope Toy Drive. Fans that donate a new toy will receive free admission to the match-up against George Washington. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“Our fans are always so giving this time of year,” Women’s Athletic Director Joan Cronan said. “It’s such a great feeling to be part of something that positively affects so many people in our area.”

Collection bins will be located at the Thompson-Boling Arena Ticket Office as well as the northwest and northeast gates beginning at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow. Suggested items include sports balls and equipment, action figure sets, fashion doll sets, arts & crafts sets, hand-held games for children ages 10-14.

Members of the Tennessee Athletic Department and the Mission of Hope will be at collection sites accepting toy donations. Gates will open at 6 p.m. For more information call 974-4114.

About Mission of Hope

The Mission of Hope is a nonprofit organization that serves and assists children and families in dire need throughout numerous distressed communities in rural Appalachia. The group has several ministries include Christmas and back-to-school campaigns, health care events and construction and resource ministries.

Sponsored by Sport 4 Peace/Global Sports Partners and SportsUnited, the players arrived in Washington, D.C., on June 3 and spent several days in the nation’s capital.

The team visited a local high school, assisted with a youth soccer program for mentally and physically disabled children, toured the Smithsonian and attended a WNBA Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream game.

The team is in Knoxville to participate in Pat Summitt’s basketball camps, June 10-17. While in Knoxville, the girls will have an opportunity to tour the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, hike in the Smoky Mountains and visit local homes for dinner and entertainment.

Sport 4 Peace, co-founded in 1994 by Steve DeVoss and UT doctoral student Sarah Hillyer, is the leading women’s sport development partner for Global Sports Partners. In 2005, UT doctoral student Ashleigh Huffman joined the Sport 4 Peace staff as assistant researcher and assistant camp director. Following the “Iraq to America” project, Sport 4 Peace will return to Iraq in July 2009 to hold the second annual basketball camp for girls, women and coaches.

The trip to the U.S. was also made possible by SportsUnited, the international sports programming initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Hillyer and Huffman, who study sports sociology, have been around the world conducting camps and researching the impact of sport, specifically in conflict areas. The organization is committed to providing new, healthy, fun and safe sporting opportunities for girls and women throughout the Middle East, North Africa and East and Central Asia.

The idea to host the girls was born after Sport 4 Peace conducted an Olympic basketball training camp for girls and women in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, at the Global Sports Partners Girls Basketball Academy last July. It was the first girls’ and women’s basketball training camp in nearly 35 years. Upon returning to Knoxville, Sport 4 Peace drafted a proposal to bring a team of aspiring Iraqi girls basketball players to the campus of the University of Tennessee to attend Pat Summitt’s Basketball Camp. Sport 4 Peace traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with SportsUnited which embraced the proposed project and agreed to partner with Sport 4 Peace.

This year’s trip includes 10 girls ages 14-16 from across Iraq and three coaches. The players were selected to represent different regions, religions and ethnicities. The girls chosen also demonstrated strong leadership qualities, positive attitudes and a desire to promote peace through the medium of sport. Some of the girls attended the camp in Iraq last year.

Read more and view photos of the team’s visit at http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/060809aab.html.

For more information about Sport 4 Peace, visit http://www.sport4peace.org/.

For more information about last year’s camp in Iraq, visit http://www.utk.edu/features/sport4peace2/.

To watch Pat Summitt’s video message to the Iraq 2008 camp, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeTgmiZQ9w0.

“Last year’s employee appreciation event was such a success, we wanted to invite the UT faculty and staff back for another game,” said Joan Cronan, UT Women’s Athletic Director. “Our players and coaches are who make our teams successful. Likewise, the employees of the University of Tennessee are who make our university one of the finest institutions in the world and we hope everyone will join us on April 1 as a thank-you for their hard work and loyalty.”

The game begins at 5 p.m. and takes place at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium off Neyland Drive. Parking is available at the stadium. For more information contact Stephanie Dawkins at 974-9499.