Legendary Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt is stepping down after 38 years, the university announced Wednesday.
The 59-year-old Summitt, who was diagnosed with early-onset dementia less than a year ago, has been named “head coach emeritus” and will continue to assist the team. Summitt’s longtime assistant Holly Warlick will take the head coaching role.
LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell played and coached under Summitt at Tennessee. Caldwell lent her support to Summitt and Warlick on Wednesday in an LSU news release.
“Coach Summitt is the reason I am a coach and why I am here [at LSU] today,” Caldwell said in the release. “She gave me an opportunity to go into coaching as a graduate assistant in 1998. More importantly, she has always been there for me since I was 18 years old. She’s my mentor, my friend and a part of my family, and that will last forever.”
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