Top 10 College Sports Coaches Ever: Where does Mike Krzyzewski Stand?

Dec 17, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach emeritus Pat Summitt in attendance during the second half against the Tennessee State Lady Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 94 to 43. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

3. Pat Summitt, Tennessee Volunteers, 1974-2012, Women’s College Basketball

Record: 1,098-208

8 National Championships

16 Conference Tournament Championships and 16 Regular Season Conference Championships (All in SEC)

This may seem a little high for a Women’s Basketball Coach. That even seems crazier when another women’s coach has passed Pat Summitt in national championships and will likely pass her in wins without her ever having the chance to catch up.

But it does not matter.

Changing the game is a factor in greatest coaches. Does anybody deny that Pat Summitt did that? Nobody uplifted a sport in a bigger way than Summitt did. We literally mean nobody in any sport.

Women’s basketball in the NCAA tournament now draws huge ratings. Schools across the ACC, SEC, Pac-12, and elsewhere sell out big regular season games. The popularity of the sport had a great deal to do with the launching of the WNBA in 1997.

All of this can be traced back to Summitt. She is the root of everything popular about women’s basketball today, and she managed to stay relevant her entire career. Summitt did it all, winning eight national championships, putting together a three-peat, having an undefeated season, and pumping out the greatest legends the sport of women’s basketball ever saw.

It should be noted she also twice turned down opportunities to coach the Tennessee men’s team, which would have elevated her profile even further. She always put women’s basketball and the future of the sport before herself. And there is truly nobody to appreciate more in any sport than her.

What is most impressive is she accomplished all of this before she turned 60 and had to step down due to her health. Just imagine where she would have been otherwise.

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