KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Pat Summitt wears a smile rather than her famous stare in a bronze statue of the former Lady Vols coach that was unveiled Friday in a dedication ceremony on Tennessee’s campus.
The 500-pound statue, which is 8 feet, 7 inches tall, shows Summitt leaning forward with arms folded. Behind the statue is a wall bearing Summitt’s signature. Below the signature are the words “Head Coach 1974-2012, Record 1,098-208, 8 National Championships.”
About 1,000 fans and dozens of former Lady Vols attended the ceremony. Summitt said that “I want everybody to know how much I appreciate what’s happened here today. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it, and I love you all.”
Summitt stepped down in April 2012, one year after announcing she had early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.
