HISTORY
RETIRED JERSEYS (continued) No. 24 TAMIKA CATCHINGS Forward » 1997-01 » Duncanville, Texas
The fifth Lady Vol jersey to be retired belonged to Tamika Catchings in a halftime ceremony on Dec. 7, 2003, against Louisiana Tech. From the moment she stepped on the court in the number 24 orange and white jersey, we knew from her contagious smile that she was a special person, and from her deadly baseline-to-baseline hustling for all 40 minutes, a truly phenomenal player. This special six-foot, one-inch forward had the heart of a champion and could play anywhere on the court. Her UT career was shortened during her senior year when she went crashing to the floor with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in game 17 versus Mississippi State. Her list of awards was staggering, as she captured a slew of them while being tabbed as UT’s second four-time Kodak All-American. What she accomplished in the span of her collegiate career is the stuff of legend. She played in 127 games as a Lady Vol. Her assault on the record books is legendary for both scoring, with 2,113 points, and rebounding, 1,004 boards. Both marks rank her third all-time. She also finished her career second all-time in steals with 311 and blocked shots with 136. And remember, she missed half of her senior season. Her teammates will tell you how special it was to earn a blue adidas headband after Catchings went out with the injury. Earning one meant they hustled like “Catch” would have. The Eleanor Roosevelt League for the Hard of Hearing honored her in 1998 – as a special role model for youngsters and adults with hearing impairments. Her UT academic counselors will relate stories about Catchings graduating ahead of her class in December 2000. People in the Knoxville community will tell you of the countless hours she put in with youths from all walks of life – from playgrounds to hospitals. An WNBA All-Star for the Indiana Fever, Catchings added to her collection of accolades in the Summer of 2004 with a gold medal as a member of the USA Women’s Basketball Team at the Athens Olympic Games. She also added gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympiads as well.
PAT SUMMITT
Head Coach » 1974-2012 » Henrietta, Tenn. The sixth woman and first non-player to be honored with a banner at Thompson-Boling Arena was Pat Summitt, who coached Tennessee for 38 years and compiled a 1,098-208 career record with the most wins in NCAA women’s or men’s basketball history. Summitt’s banner was hoisted prior to a nationally-televised game vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 28, 2013. The legendary Summitt directed Tennessee to eight NCAA National Championships, 31-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 18 NCAA Final Fours. At the conference level, she directed her squads to 16 SEC regular-season titles and 16 SEC tournament championships, including a tourney title in her final season at the helm in 2012. During her career, Summitt produced 21 WBCA/Kodak/State Farm All-Americans, 39 All-SEC players, 12 Olympians and 34 WNBA draft picks, including 15 first-round selections. The number she was most proud of, however, was the 100-percent graduation rate for the 122 players who completed their careers and earned degrees at Tennessee. Collecting an incredible array of honors during her career, Summitt was named SEC Coach of the Year eight times – 1993, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2011. She was named the 1987, 1989, 1994, 1998 and 2004 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year and WBCA/Converse Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1995 and the IKON/WBCA Coach of the Year in 1998. Summitt belongs to the FIBA International, Naismith Memorial, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Sports Foundation, Tennessee Lady Vol, Tennessee Sports, Greater Knoxville Sports, and National Association for Sports and Physical Education Hall of Fame. Her most esteemed honor, however, came on May 29, 2012, when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (presented by President Barack Obama) at White House.
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Tennessee women’s BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK » 2013-14