Conference room to bear Campbell's name

Refurbished suite will be for Lady Vols' use

Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team will not let the memories of longtime and faithful fan Gerry Campbell slip away.

Their new conference room - to be designed for team meetings, film sessions and staff meetings - will be named in memory of Campbell, a Lady Vols fan almost from the time Summitt was hired by UT in 1974. A portrait of Campbell and a plaque will be displayed.

The room will be in the Lady Vols basketball suite of Thompson-Boling Arena - an area which once served as Summitt's office.

Several of Campbell's close friends are heading a fund-raiser for the project, which is expected to be completed sometime in September.

"Gerry was, without question, one of the most-loyal Lady Vol fans," Summitt said Thursday. "From the time I started coaching, he started watch our basketball team - but not just basketball. He was a fan of all Lady Vols sports.

"The Olympics was his passion and I was fortunate to see him just before he left for Athens (Greece)," Summitt said.

Campbell became ill as he prepared to return home from the Olympics and died Oct. 7, 2004 in an Athens hospital. He was 74.

"Gerry was a wonderful friend to me and to the Lady Vols athletes," Summitt said. "So, for us to just have something in his memory is truly special. I miss him so much. He was a wonderful friend."

The project was recommended to UT by Campbell's longtime friend Martha Winkler. Contributions may be sent to Lady Vol Development, McKenzie-Lawson Athletic Center - Level 1, Gerry Campbell Project/Attn. Dara Worrell, P.O. Box 15016, Knoxville, Tn. 37901-5016.