Former Arkansas coach has fond memories of Summitt

By Nate Allen

Special to the News-Times

FAYETTEVILLE -  Of all the active coaches’ tributes to Pat Summitt, Gary Blair’s will mean the most to many Arkansans.

Summitt – women's college basketball’s all-time winningest coach with 1,098 victories – led the Tennessee Lady Vols from 1974-2012. In the process, the Lady Volunteers earned eight national championships.

The legendary figure died Tuesday after fighting Alzheimer’s Disease since being diagnosed in August, 2011.

Though Blair has been Texas A&M’s head women’s basketball coach since 2003, he coached the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks from 1993-2003. He and his teams often battled Summitt’s Tennessee Lady Vols including in the only Final Four that Arkansas’ women have ever advanced to.

It was in 1998. Blair’s Razorbacks, ultimately 22-11 overall and 7-7 in the SEC, would win the NCAA West Regional.

Meanwhile, there was nothing improbable about Summitt’s Lady Vols that Arkansas met in the Final Four semifinal in Kansas City.

Summitt’s Lady Vols not only rampaged unbeaten through the SEC and SEC Tournament, they rampaged unbeaten everywhere. Arguably the best college women’s team ever assembled, they finished 39-0.

Tennessee earned an 86-58 victory over Arkansas in the national semifinals, and a 93-58 win over Louisiana Tech in the national championship game.

Blair, who has since won a national championship at A&M, and Summitt – clashed 13 times on the court.

Summitt’s Lady Vols won 12 of the meetings.

Blair did recount one victory off the court, giving Summitt’s then 4-year old son Tyler a Hog hat that Blair said Tyler wore incessantly.

“She couldn't get it off of him,” Blair was quoted by the Dallas Morning News’ Sports Day website.

"I can't even imagine where our game would be without Pat," Blair said in a statement Tuesday issued through Texas A&M. "Her legacy will be the impact she's had on us all. It extends beyond her Lady Vol family and includes any of us who have competed on every level.

"I'm honored to have competed against her and proud to have called her my friend. The game will miss her. Nobody will have any idea how much she has meant to the game until later on."

Blair said everyone from the game’s pillars to the game’s novices will miss her.

"When Pat comes into a room, she can hold a room as well as anybody because she just has that aura and presence about her," Blair said. "She can make everybody in the room seem important if you're talking to her, whether you're a junior high coach or a newspaper writer or another colleague."

On behalf of the SEC, league commissioner Greg Sankey issued this statement, "Pat Summitt transformed the lives of people she touched: her colleagues, her competitors, and especially her players. Through her character, passion and vision, she also transformed the game of women’s basketball, impacting the lives of countless young people and forever changing intercollegiate athletics. The championships she won resulted from the larger influence she had on the people who played for her, worked for her, and were fortunate enough to associate with one of the most accomplished persons in the history of college sports. Pat will always have a place of honor in the Southeastern Conference and our prayers are with her family at this difficult time.”

Summitt continued impacting lives even as her life slipped away.

The Pat Summitt Alzheimer’s Clinic opens in December in Knoxville, Tenn.

Upcoming Events