The Legacy of Pat Summitt: Players, Colleagues, Family, and Friends who Knew Her Best

By turns funny, heartbreaking, and inspiring, UT Women’s Basketball Coach Pat Summitt was not only one of the greatest coaches of all time but also a great friend and mentor. In this companion volume to the best-selling The Final Season , journalist Maria M. Cornelius gathers interviews from key figures in Summitt’s life, including coaches Holly Warlick, Mickie DeMoss; administrator Debby Jennings; players Tanya Haave, Kyra Elzy, and Isabelle Harrison; her son, Tyler; and longtime hairdresser and friend Bobbie Dunn, among many others.

Readers get an inside look at how Summitt motivated her players, persuaded promising high schoolers to join her team, trained her coaches to excel, and touched countless lives. Summitt’s colleagues, players, assistants, and managers went on to successful careers in the WNBA, the FBI, education, and more. They named their children after her. They queued up to see her in the last months of her life. To a person, they regarded her as much more than a coach; she was a guiding light in their lives.

With a tender foreword by player Alexis Hornbuckle, The Legacy of Pat Summitt demonstrates, through the voices of those who knew her best, the influence the legendary coach had—both personally and professionally—on all who had the good fortune to cross her path.