Nashville Submits WNBA Expansion Bid With Team Branding Honoring Pat Summitt

Pat Summitt
Team logo for the proposed Tennessee Summitt WNBA expansion team. Photo via @TNSummitt on X.

Bill and Crissy Haslam are leading a group of investors in a quest to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to Nashville, TN.

“The ownership group is proposing to name the team the ‘Tennessee Summitt,’ in honor of former University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, universally recognized as the greatest coach in the history of women’s basketball,” the press release on Thursday reads. “She coached the Lady Volunteers for 38 years and never missed the NCAA Tournament, winning the NCAA Championship eight times.”

The colors of the proposed team are similar to the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Soccer Club with a blue-and-yellow theme, but the shade of blue more resembles the Lady Vols’ Summitt Blue as opposed to the dark blue of the Predators or NSC.

Summitt’s legacy was clearly a priority in the creation of this team.

Tennessee Summitt announced their expansion proposal on Thursday morning with a social media post on X and a press release.

“Bill Haslam, Chairman of the Nashville Predators and former Governor of the state of Tennessee, and his wife Crissy are leading a group of investors in the submission of an expansion bid to bring a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team to Nashville and the state of Tennessee,” the press release reads. “The bid will be submitted this afternoon (January 30, 2025) to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league’s expansion committee. Should the bid be successful, the Tennessee franchise would begin play in the summer of 2028 at Bridgestone Arena.”

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Tyler Summitt, Pat’s son, released a statement through the reveal on Thursday.

“As a fierce competitor, my mom was proud of the Lady Vols’ championships and success, but she was also a huge advocate for women’s sports and women in leadership,” said Tyler Summitt, co-founder of Pat Summitt Leadership Group and Pat Summitt Foundation, via the press release. “I know she would be proud and honored to be included in the expansion of women’s professional basketball into Tennessee.”

The list of partners includes some major figures including “entertainment icons Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and Candace Parker, three-time WNBA Champion and two-time NCAA Champion at the University of Tennessee.”

Another name in the group of investors is VFL and Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

“Also joining the bid is former University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning and his company, Omaha Productions,” the release states. “Manning developed a love for Women’s Basketball through his close relationship with Coach Summitt while attending UT. Omaha has also been involved with the sport, recently producing a women’s college basketball series for ESPN.”

According to the release, the team would play its games in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

For more information on Nashville’s WNBA expansion bid, read through the full press release on Thursday here.

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