Pat Summitt.

Pat Summitt. Pat Summitt, born in 1952, American basketball coach who has led the University of Tennessee women's team to six national championships and has won more games than any other college basketball coach. Only John Wooden, who captured ten championships as the coach of the men's basketball team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has won more national college basketball titles. Summitt was born in Clarksville, Tennessee. While growing up on the family farm, she and her three older brothers often played two-on-two basketball after they finished their chores. Summitt went on to play basketball at the University of Tennessee at Martin, but during her senior year she tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee. In the 1970s an ACL tear was considered a career-ending injury, but Summitt worked hard to rehabilitate the knee. She recovered and was named cocaptain of the United States women's basketball team for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The U.S. team won the silver medal. While playing on the national team, Summitt also took courses for a master's degree in physical education and coached the Lady Volunteers, the women's basketball team at the University of Tennessee's main campus in Knoxville. In 1974, her first year as coach, Tennessee finished with a 16-8 win-loss record. Under Summitt's guidance, the Lady Vols soon emerged as one of the powerhouses of women's college basketball. While honing her coaching skills at Tennessee, Summitt also served as head coach for several U.S. national women's basketball teams. Her squad at the 1979 world championships won the gold medal, and she led teams to the silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games and the 1983 world championships. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, Summitt coached the U.S. team to the gold medal. In 1987, after more than a decade of producing Tennessee teams with outstanding regular-season records, Summitt finally coached the Lady Vols to their first national title. The team went on to claim the national championship five more times: in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, and 1998. The 1998 team finished the regular season with a record of 39-0, winning its games by an average of more than 30 points. Many people consider this Tennessee squad, which starred forward Chamique Holdsclaw, one of the best women's college basketball teams ever. Summitt was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Summitt's Lady Vols reached the championship game in 2003 and 2004 but lost both times to the University of Connecticut. During the 2005 postseason tournament Summitt claimed her 880th career victory as a coach, breaking the record held by former University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.