The Final Season : The Perseverance of Pat Summitt

Maria M Cornelius

ISBN 13: 9798895273197

Published by University Of Tennessee Press Jun 2026, 2026

About this Item

Neuware - Foreword Indies Gold Award, Sports Category, 2016 With 1,098 wins and eight national championships, the University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt established a remarkable tradition of perseverance, leadership, and passion for the game but her victories on the court aren't the only legacy she left in her wake.From the beginning of her career as the Lady Vols head coach at twenty-two years old, Pat Head Summitt effectively established the University of Tennessee Lady Vols as the top women's athletics program in the nation. She became the winningest coach in the history of NCAA basketball, but the lives she impacted along the way constitute her true legacy. An exemplary role model for young women, expecting nothing but the best from her players and those around her, her stature never faltered not even during her final season as head coach, when she faced her fiercest adversary yet: the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. This tenth-anniversary edition of The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt tells the story of Summitt's final coaching season through the eyes of those who knew her best. Coaches, players, staff, friends, and her son share their memories of Summitt's thirty-eight years as head coach. From the championship moments that will be cherished forever to the final goodbyes hours before she died, these new stories at once sad, humorous, and poignant capture the essence of a coach whose true legacy isn't measured in wins, but in the enduring Lady Vols family she brought together.

Seller Inventory # 9798895273197

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Final Season : The Perseverance of Pat Summitt
• Publisher: University Of Tennessee Press Jun 2026
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798895273197
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 230W x 154H x 23D millimeters 230 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 553 grams

About this title

Synopsis

With 1,098 wins and eight national championships, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt established a remarkable tradition of perseverance, leadership, and passion for the game―but victories on the court aren’t the only legacy she left. An exemplary role model for young women, expecting nothing but the best from her players and those around her, her stature never faltered―not even during her final season as head coach, when she faced her fiercest adversary yet: the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

This tenth-anniversary edition of The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt brings readers up to date on the story of Summitt’s final coaching season through the eyes of those who knew her best. Maria M. Cornelius presents readers with a behind-the-scenes look at the conclusion of Summitt’s coaching career, detailing from the perspective of a sportswriter how her diagnosis impacted her players, staff, and fans. Two new chapters depict the coach’s final days with her players and the celebration of her life that followed. From the championship moments that will be cherished forever to the final goodbyes hours before she died, these new stories―at once sad, humorous, and poignant―capture the essence of a coach whose true legacy is measured not in wins, but in the enduring Lady Vols family she brought together.

About the Author

Maria M. Cornelius has written about the Lady Vols basketball program since 1998 for local, regional, and national media. The senior writer/editor for MoxCar Marketing + Communications in Knoxville, she is also a freelance sportswriter for 247Sports Tennessee and KnoxTNToday.