Basketball Is Women's Work, Thanks to Her

By Mike Terry

April 2, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

For only the third time in the 24-year history of the women’s NCAA tournament, the Final Four coaches are all women.

And one of them has been there all three times.

That, of course, would be Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, who could serve as the face of women’s college basketball.

She is taking the Lady Vols to Indianapolis this weekend in search of an unprecedented seventh national championship. It will be the 16th Final Four appearance for Tennessee, including the last four in succession, and the ninth in the last 11 years.

The three coaches who oppose her -- Joanne P. McCallie, whose Michigan State team plays Tennessee on Sunday; Pokey Chatman of Louisiana State, a Southeastern Conference rival, and Kim Mulkey-Robertson of Baylor -- and others like them owe a debt of thanks to Summitt. Her success in 31 seasons at Tennessee has eliminated many of the doubts of women’s abilities to run high-profile athletic programs.

Not that Summitt would take any credit.

“You’re seeing a lot more [college] administrators across the country look at some of the top females who have either played the sport or been involved with the game,” Summitt said. “Not that they are opposed by any means to hire men, as there are certainly a lot of successful men in this profession. But I do think more and more women are being given opportunities for head-coaching jobs.”

Just don’t apply for the one at Tennessee. In Knoxville, Summitt remains a force.

At 52, her features are pleasantly seasoned. She maintains her ramrod straight carriage with daily runs and exercise. Her voice is Southern genteel, as are her manners. She absorbs the latest John C. Maxwell tome on leadership with the same gusto she approaches the latest variation on the high-low post.

Beloved in her native state and aware of her Hall of Fame status in the sport, Summitt makes time for all who want to meet and talk to her. Unless the conversation is about coaching a men’s team, a topic that has picked up speed since she passed Dean Smith as the all-time winningest Division I coach, male or female, on March 22. Her teams have won 882 games.

“I guess maybe people see it as the ultimate if a female coached men,” Summitt said. “But I personally think this is the best game going. I have no desire [to coach men]. It’s not like it would make me a better coach. I have nothing to prove.”

Most athletic programs experience down cycles. Summitt’s teams never have. Under her direction, the Lady Vols have had 29 20-win and 15 30-win seasons, traditionally playing one of the toughest regular-season schedules in the country. Since 1976, every Lady Vol has played in, or at least been to, the Final Four.

Those who don’t know Summitt expect a rigid disciplinarian who knows only one way to coach the game. But she has learned to bend. She can still bark orders like a drill instructor, and she can still apply what is known as “the stare” at players or referees who displease. But she said she hoped she’d grown into a better listener, that she believes her players know there is a nurturing soul inside the steel magnolia.

“When you’re not sure of yourself at first, as I was when I started, you can be a control freak,” Summitt said. “Over time you get an understanding of how fragile kids can be. I can still yell, but it’s not what you’re feeling as a coach. It’s knowing what that player needs at the moment.”

Still, certain Summitt standards never change. Such as the “student” in student-athlete. Lady Vols are expected to sit within the first three rows in their classes. And there is no reason to miss class.

Tennessee arrived home around 5 a.m. after winning the Philadelphia regional. Before the players got off the plane, Summitt told them there would be no practice that day.

“But you will be in class this morning,” she added. When a couple of players groaned, Summitt said, “If you don’t go to class, you don’t go to Indianapolis. It’s your choice.”

Is it any wonder the Lady Vols have a 100% graduation rate under Summitt? And that includes players who went on to play professionally overseas or in the WNBA. They have all come back and finished.

“You’re here to get a degree first,” she said. “We want you to leave here as self-sufficient young women.”

Here’s the real secret of Summitt’s success: She demands nothing from anyone that she doesn’t demand from herself. And she demands from herself that she give her full effort, all the time, as a coach, celebrity, wife and mother.

On Sunday against Michigan State, she will demand that the Lady Vols test the Spartans’ vaunted matchup zone defense with crisp passing and smart shot selection. She’ll want freshman Alexis Hornbuckle to play as well as senior forward Shyra Ely. She’ll expect 40 minutes of focus and concentration -- and more if overtime is required.

That’s been Pat Summitt’s way since her first game in 1974. There’s no reason to change now.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

MILESTONE VICTORIES

Pat Summitt’s key victories at Tennessee by the numbers:

* 1: Jan. 10, 1975 -- 69-32 over Middle Tennessee State in Knoxville, Summitt’s second game as head coach.

* 100: Jan. 13, 1979 -- 79-66 over North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.

* 200: Dec. 3, 1982 -- 69-56 over St. John’s in Detroit.

* 300: Jan. 4, 1987 -- 87-68 over North Carolina in Knoxville.

* 319: March 29, 1987 -- 67-44 over Louisiana Tech in Austin, Texas, Summitt’s first national championship.

* 385: April 2, 1989 -- 76-60 over Auburn in Tacoma, Wash., Summitt’s second national championship.

* 400: Jan. 25, 1990 -- 70-69 over South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.

* 442: March 31, 1991 -- 70-67 over Virginia in overtime at New Orleans, Summitt’s third national championship.

* 500: Nov. 21, 1993 -- 80-45 over Ohio State in Jackson, Tenn.

* 596: March 31, 1996 -- 83-65 over Georgia in Charlotte, N.C., Summitt’s fourth national championship.

* 600: Nov. 23, 1996 -- 83-68 over Marquette in Burlington, Vt.

* 625: March 30, 1997 -- 68-59 over Old Dominion in Cincinnati, Summitt’s fifth national championship.

* 664: March 29, 1998 -- 93-75 over Louisiana Tech in Kansas City, Mo., Summitt’s sixth national championship, capping a 39-0 season.

* 700: Dec. 5, 1999 -- 85-62 over Wisconsin in Madison, Wisc.

* 800: Jan. 14, 2002 -- 76-57 over DePaul in Knoxville.

* 877: March 5, 2005 -- 76-73 over Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the SEC tournament at Greenville, S.C., passing Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time win list.

* 880: March 22, 2005 -- 75-54 over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Knoxville, passing Dean Smith as the all-time winningest basketball coach, male or female, in NCAA Division I history.

Summitt Season

This is Pat Summitt’s time of the year, the tournament season, during which no coach has piled up bigger numbers. Where she stands in the NCAA tournament record book (through regional finals):

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Pat Summitt, Tennessee ... 6

Geno Auriemma, Connecticut ... 5

Linda Sharp, USC ... 2

Tara VanDerveer, Stanford ... 2

FINAL FOURS

Pat Summitt, Tennessee ... 16

Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech ... 9

Geno Auriemma, Connecticut ... 8

APPEARANCES

Pat Summitt, Tennessee ... 24

Andy Landers, Georgia ... 22