HOOVER, Ala. – While the main topic of conversation at SEC Media Days this week is the upcoming football season, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took some time to honor legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt during his opening statement.
“It’s also a time to remember one of college sports iconic figures, because on Thursday of this week, there will be a celebration of the life of Pat Summitt in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pat was a pillar of the Southeastern Conference. She’s on par with many of the great names, may have set the standard for all of the great names that are a part of this conference. Her impact is felt every day in the lives of the young people she mentored. Their ongoing success is living proof of Pat’s influence and truly positive impact of intercollegiate athletics.
“In the days since her passing, there’s been any number of quotes from the University of Tennessee women’s basketball players talking about their mentor and their coach. Today I’ll share one from Kara Lawson who said: Personally, she was a life-changer for me. You come in as a young woman, and you’re rough around the edges in a lot of ways, and she, little by little, she smoothed those out and made you into something where you feel invincible as a player and you feel invincible when you graduate, with the confidence you have to attack whatever it is you choose to do.
“It’s football Media Days, but it’s appropriate to remember Pat, because, while there’s a measure of her impact in the record books, we can’t lose sight of the fact that she had 100 percent of her players who completed their eligibility under her leadership, graduate from the University of Tennessee.
“Last year I introduced the idea of scholars, champions and leaders as a vision for this conference, talking about graduating every student-athlete, winning every championship and changing the world. Pat may be the best example of having graduated every student-athlete, having sought and tried and competed to win every championship, and using the intercollegiate athletics platform to change the world. Her legacy demonstrates that academics and athletics are not just compatible, but essentially linked within the context of what we do in intercollegiate athletics.
“From all of us, I mean all of us, I simply want to say thank you, Pat.”
Tennessee is holding a memorial service open to the public to honor the life of Pat Summitt on Thursday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena at 7 pm ET.
