Tennessee to wear helmet stickers honoring Pat Summitt
The Tennessee football team will wear a helmet decal this season to honor the late Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee women’s basketball coach who died on June 28 after a five-year fight with Alzheimer’s.
“We’re excited about wearing a commemorative sticker on the back of our helmet to honor the late Pat Summitt,” fourth-year coach Butch Jones said. “We know everything she stands for. I think it’s very fitting that Tennessee football and Team 120 recognize her and everything she means to the University of Tennessee and state of Tennessee.”
Summitt’s coaching career ended just as Jones was taking over the Vols football program, but he was drawn to her and her impact at the Knoxville university in her final years.
Summitt retired as the winningest coach, man or woman, in college basketball history, with 1,098 wins in 38 seasons. Eight of those wins were in national championship games.
Grant Ramey covers University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the Paste BN NETWORK