The family of former University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt is reportedly “preparing for the worst” as her early onset dementia progresses.
In a statement released Sunday, her family acknowledged that “the past few days have been difficult for Pat,” whose illustrious 38-year tenure as Lady Vols coach included 1,098 wins — the most in Division I college basketball history for a men’s or women’s coach — as well as 32 SEC championships and eight national titles.
“I don’t think anybody knows whether she will last a day, a month, or a year,” a source close to the situation told the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Summitt, 64, coached her final season in 2011-2012 after she announced that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s type dementia in August 2011. The seven-time NCAA Coach of the Year, who owns an astonishing .913 winning percentage at Thompson-Boling Arena (504-48), or “The Summitt,” formed the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund with her son, Tyler, in the same year. The foundation’s proceeds go towards Alzheimer’s research.
As of Saturday night, she had not been moved from the retirement center where she has been staying since January, according to the Sentinel.
The family’s statement, which was released by spokesperson Erin Freeman, added: “She is surrounded by those who mean the most to her and during this time, we ask for prayers for PAt and her family and friends, as well as your utmost respect and privacy. Thank you.”
At 24, two years into her coaching career at Tennessee, Summitt co-captained the silver-medal winning 1976 U.S. Olympic team before coaching the 1984 team to a gold medal.
In 2012, President Obama awarded Summitt the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
