Pat Summitt to lead charity golf tournament

Fresh off a national championship win, Lady Vols Head Coach Pat Summitt isn't slowing down.

In an interview Friday morning on "10 News Today," Coach Summitt said she will briefly trade a basketball for a golf club next month to encourage people to help out the Helen Ross McNabb Center.

The center specializes in mental health care services for adults, children and families in East Tennessee.

The tournament will be held May 7 at the Cherokee Country Club.

For more information about the tournament and how to sign up, click on the link below.

Play golf with Coach Pat Summitt.

State Legislature Honors Tennessee Women

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The state Capitol was awash in orange Wednesday as lawmakers honored the Lady Vols basketball team for winning the 2007 NCAA National Championship.

Coach Pat Summitt, University of Tennessee President John Petersen and most of the Lady Vols team were greeted by legislators with applause and whistles to be honored with orange roses and a lengthy resolution detailing the season's highlights.

"Any time I've been able to come into this room and be recognized, it gives me chills," Summitt said.

The Lady Vols beat Rutgers 59-46 on April 3 in Cleveland to claim the national title.

Summitt and Petersen came to the House decked out in orange blazers reminiscent of men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl's favorite attire. A few legislators wore orange ties and House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower wore bright orange pants for the occasion.

The Lady Vols signed autographs before returning to Knoxville with Petersen to study for exams. Tournament MVP Candace Parker did not travel with the team because of illness.

House Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry, D-Memphis, announced that at the University of Tennessee "the men are men and the women are national champions."

Summitt replied: "I love your enthusiasm. I may want to sign you up. Do you have any eligibility left?"

Pat Summitt with Jay Leno

NBC viewers all over the country enjoyed a visit from a big orange celebrity last night. Our very own National Championship coach glided onto the set of the Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

The two talked about a wide range of topics from her early career to the controversy surrounding the Rutgers women's basketball team and former radio host Don Imus.

Then Jay just 'had' to ask about being a cheerleader. Which lead into the tape of Pat singing Rocky Top at the men's basketball game, after which Pat remarked " that looked like Minnie Pearl to me."

Jay said he was going to mention the Minnie Pearl resemblance...but he was afraid he would get slapped.

Click here to watch the video.

Summitt booked for Tonight Show

Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt will be a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday.

Along with Summitt, the show’s lineup Monday will include Zach Braff, known primarily for his role as medical intern John "J.D." Dorian on the NBC sitcom "Scrubs." The musical guest will be Joss Stone, the British singer/songwriter who has sold more than 7.5 million albums worldwide.

Summitt guided the Lady Vols to a seventh national championship in basketball on April 3 with a 59-46 victory over Rutgers in Cleveland.

Given the show’s format, Summitt’s turn as the singing cheerleader during a break in a Tennessee men’s basketball home game against Florida Feb. 27 likely will be revisited. Summitt, along with her assistant coaches, appeared in cheerleading attire at that game and Summitt sang "Rocky Top."

Chris Yandek Interviews Pat Summitt

Click here to read/listen to Chris Yandek's interviews with Pat Summitt. The interviews were conducted February 13, 2007 and April 10, 2007.

US Senate Passes Resolution Honoring Lady Vols

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Senate has unanimously passed a resolution congratulating the UT Lady Vols for their NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship title.

The resolution, sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Bob Corker (R-TN) recognizes the Lady Vols for their 59-46 win over Rutgers in Cleveland and head coach Pat Summitt for her seventh such title.

“We’re very proud of our Lady Vols because they are true student athletes – Coach Summitt puts a serious focus on the academic achievement of her players, which sets a tone that the rest of the NCAA would do well to emulate,” Alexander said in a release. “I know how proud I was as president of the University of Tennessee that one of the most visible symbols of our university had such high values.”

“As a UT grad, I’m especially proud to join Senator Alexander in honoring the Lady Vols basketball team for winning Tennessee’s seventh national title under coach Pat Summitt,” said Corker. “I congratulate this exceptional group of young women and Coach Summitt for bringing another championship back to Knoxville.”

The resolution passed by unanimous consent late Thursday evening.

West Virginia names Randall

Semeka Randall, a former Tennessee All-American and a four-year veteran of the WNBA, has joined the West Virginia University women's basketball coaching staff, coach Mike Carey said Thursday.

"I hope I can come in and contribute and give to the program any way I can," Randall said. "One of the things I see that is similar between Mike [Carey] and Pat [Summitt] is their hard work. I want to get in here and work my tail off and be part of a team that works hard."

Randall, a Cleveland native who was Parade Magazine's Player of the Year and a first-team All-American in 1997 while starring at Trinity High School, has spent the last three seasons on the Michigan State staff, where the Spartans played for the national championship (2005), advanced to the Sweet 16 (2006) and made it to the NCAA second round (2007).

Randall was also Ohio's Miss Basketball in 1996 and 1997.

Before her tenure at Michigan State, Randall served as an assistant coach at Cleveland State.

Randall's playing career at Tennessee includes All-America honors and a national championship. Randall was the first player chosen in the second round (17th overall) of the 2001 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. In 2004, she completed her four-year WNBA career, which included stops in Utah (2002) and San Antonio (2003-04). She also played in professional leagues in Israel (2001-02) and Greece (2002-03).

Summitt Announces Departure of Lady Vol

Moats played in nine games this season

KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- Pat Summitt, head coach of the 2007 NCAA Champion University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team, announced today that freshman Nicci Moats had elected to leave the program.

"Nicci has decided to leave the Lady Vol basketball team," said Summitt. "I wish her success in all of her future endeavors."

Moats, a 6'2" forward from Daleville, Va., played in nine games this season and averaged 0.8 ppg and 0.9 rpg. On Jan. 27, 2007, Summitt announced that Moats would remain on medical leave from the team for the remainder of the season. At the time, Moats remarked, "After talking with the medical staff, I decided to take a leave from playing with the team for the remainder of the season so my focus can be on getting healthy and concentrating on my academics."

On the season, she recorded a career high four points against George Washington Univ., grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots against Chattanooga for other high-water marks.

"This was personally a difficult year for me at Tennessee, and I feel it is in my best interest to pursue playing opportunities closer to home and my family," said Moats.

A Needed Conversation

I don't want Don Imus fired. Instead, I want him to buy season tickets to Rutgers women's basketball and sit in the front row wearing a sweat shirt with a big letter R on it at every home game.

It serves no purpose to call for Imus's job; that's mere harsh vengeance and we've had enough undue harshness. If you shut down Imus's show, silence him, the conversation ends there. What's needed in the Rutgers-Imus affair, and on the subjects of racism and sexism in general, is not silence but talk, lots of it, and what's needed in women's basketball is a promoter. I know just the guy for the job.

When Essence Carson took the microphone to speak for the Rutgers team, you saw Imus's problem and why it hasn't gone away. In comparison with that blameless face and voice, his slur seemed tangibly, specifically abhorrent, and you felt it all over again. How could any intelligent person conjure such verbiage as "nappy-headed hos" in the first place, much less apply it to such a nice kid? Carson and the Scarlet Knights didn't lecture, they didn't say that injustice is what happens when you treat someone as an abstraction, a stranger, an "other." Instead, they simply demonstrated the point by introducing themselves, one by one, and made clear that the central sin and fallacy in any -ism, whether racism or sexism, is that it fails to take into account the individual qualities of an Essence Carson.

As Heather Zurich said, "What hurts the most about this situation is that Mr. Imus knows not one of us personally."

It's only fitting, then, that Imus should have to get to know each and every player, learn the particulars of their characters and details of their lives, and one way to do that is to go to their games. Carson is a straight-A student, a classical pianist, a composed speaker and someone's child. "Before the student comes the daughter," she said. Point guard Matee Ajavon sat out for two months with a stress fracture and has a steel rod in her leg. Coach C. Vivian Stringer has surmounted a series of tragedies over her Hall of Fame career. Her daughter was crippled by spinal meningitis, and she was widowed early. "My heart has never been light in going to a Final Four," she said. "It took me personally 25 years to come to a championship game."

Asked in a radio interview yesterday if she thought Imus was a racist, Stringer pointedly replied that she would wait to meet him in person before deciding.

The Scarlet Knights have decided to meet Imus face to face. And personally, I believe it's the right thing to do. They aren't looking for a punishment that fits the crime, or to join a mob action, and they can reach their own conclusions without being stampeded by Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson into demanding Imus's resignation. They have a chance to get something more meaningful from him: a full-fledged conversion.

To their credit, the Rutgers players seem to feel that it's no more right to paint Imus with a broad brush than it was to paint them with one. Imus seems sincerely ashamed of mouthing such unpardonable garbage, and it's legitimately hard to categorize him as an out-and-out racist. While I don't particularly know him, I've been on his show, and I listened to him champion Harold E. Ford Jr. during his run for U.S. Senate in Tennessee, and bitterly decry the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina. He's a shock-satirist who takes verbal baseball swings at piñata-size personalities for their pretensions, often as not powerful white people.

But regardless of what anyone thinks of Imus, you don't cure prejudice by curbing speech. Clearly, as a society we've made the uneasy decision that censorship is more dangerous than sensitivity, otherwise Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh wouldn't get work. Words are hurtful, but for the most part they're inactive. Censorship is an action. As columnist John Leo succinctly put it, "No insults means no free speech."

Just because words don't constitute acts, however, doesn't mean they're without effect, and that's where the Rutgers players have a chance to turn an evil incident into something beneficial. If nothing else, we've all learned that words aren't ephemeral, they hang around, in bits, texts and instant messages. Some things stay said. You can argue about whether Imus "scarred me for life," as Ajavon maintains, but he left a mark. The Rutgers kids assumed that the winner's circle was colorless and genderless, and Imus disabused them, abruptly, of that notion with one harsh sentence. He cost them that ideal. To a certain extent, he hardened their hearts, and he has to live with that.

It's not frivolous, then, to suggest that one way for Imus to make amends to the Scarlet Knights is to use his microphone to promote and defend a deserving sport. Female ballplayers still fight enormous prejudice: They deal with a daily drumbeat of small degrading remarks, false assumptions and acts of stubborn little meanness; their looks and skills are derided; and at some schools they even have to fight for time on the practice court. An example: Back in 1998, when Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt was being celebrated for her sixth national championship -- her sixth, mind you -- she returned to campus and in the hallway of her own arena, she ran into an aging male administrator, who went out of his way to insult her. He stared at her coolly. "Did you win?" he asked. It was his way of telling her it wasn't worth watching.

The truth is, the fallout from the Imus controversy is the most publicity the women's game ever has gotten. Some of the male sports columnists who weighed in this week annually neglect the women's Final Four, and most of them failed to witness a single game in which Rutgers played.

So how is the Rutgers team better served? By demanding Imus be fired, or by converting him into an ally and employing his powerful voice and platform? By silencing his microphone, or by engaging him in sustained and badly needed conversation about race and gender? By refusing his contrition, or by suggesting that he come and watch, close-up and firsthand, and get to know them and the game they love? Preferably, wearing a scarlet sweat shirt.

Star in Metro Cincinnati commits to join Lady Vols

CINCINNATI — When Amber Gray talked with Tennessee women's basketball Coach Pat Summitt on Sunday and told her, "I want to be a Lady Volunteer," a weight was lifted off the Lakota West junior's shoulders.

Instead of taking the summer and possibly next season to ponder where she wanted to play college ball, the Firebirds standout knew where she wanted to go. Gray said she "felt it deep inside" that UT was the place for her to be.

Duke and LSU — two of her other top possible choices — are making coaching changes.

That "played a big factor," Gray said.

Stability at UT

And at UT, there aren't many more stable coaching situations than Summitt's. Last week, Summitt guided the Lady Vols to their seventh national title, improving to 945-180 over 33 seasons.

"Every girls' basketball player wants to play for Tennessee and Coach Summitt," Gray said.

The 6-foot-1 guard/forward averaged 20.9 points and 8.5 rebounds her junior season.

Now Gray can concentrate on her senior season without the weight of a college decision lingering.

"I can have fun without worrying about which coach is watching me," Gray said.

Moats remains a Lady Vol for now, but may transfer

Former Lord Botetourt basketball star Nicci Moats might transfer from Tennessee, according to her mother, Annette Moats.

Moats, a freshman, played in nine games for the Lady Vols before Christmas. In late January, she took a medical leave from the team for the rest of the season. Her parents have said she was too weak to play because of a weak immune system.

Annette Moats said Nicci is mulling over whether to remain on the Lady Vols or transfer. She said Nicci will meet with coach Pat Summitt, whose team recently won the NCAA tournament.

Moats, who did not attend the Final Four, is still going to classes at Tennessee. She has not obtained a release from Tennessee, which she would need to talk to other schools.

Moats could wind up at James Madison.

JMU senior Shirley McCall, a Bassett graduate who recently concluded her college basketball career, said JMU coaches have told the team Moats might be joining the Dukes. McCall has also heard that from JMU forward Brentney Moore; McCall said Moore and Moats are close friends.

Annette Moats said JMU is only one option for Nicci.

"She's had a bunch of schools that have contacted Tennessee the last couple months," Annette Moats said. "There's a lot of interest from ACC schools."

She said Nicci will have to get back into basketball shape.

"Her immune system is still down, it's not the best, but she's doing better," she said.

Summitt gets United Way's Puett award

Jim Haslam didn't need a script to introduce the recipient of the United Way's Sammie Lynn Puett Community Volunteer Award for 2007 - University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt.

All you needed to know about Summitt was this, he said: "She never missed a day of school from kindergarten to high school. to do this you have to set a high goal."

The United Way of Greater Knoxville met the organization's goal and raised $12.5 million this year.

Summitt talked about how work with the United Way had gotten her involved in the community beyond coaching basketball and what an influence the late Sammie Lynn Puett had on her. She said she was thinking about Puett on Wednesday as she traveled to the United Way luncheon.

"She loved and cared about the people of this community," Summitt said.

Pat Summitt comments on Don Imus' controversial remarks

KNOXVILLE -- UT Lady Vols head basketball coach Pat Summitt issued a statement Tuesday afternoon about the racially insensitive comments Don Imus made about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

"The inappropriate comments directed toward the student-athletes of Rutgers University were very disappointing," said Summitt in the statement. "Their head coach, C. Vivian Stringer, and I have been friends for a number of years, and I have tremendous respect for her and the great young women in her program. These student-athletes deserve a lot of credit for what they have accomplished, and it saddens me that they were treated with such disrespect.

"Never should there be a time when student-athletes are in a position to receive this kind of verbal abuse. I applaud Rutgers University, Coach Stringer and the Scarlet Knight student-athletes and the exemplary way they conducted themselves in their national press conference today. The University of Tennessee women's basketball program commends Rutgers' handling of this situation. It is emblematic of the outstanding caliber of student-athletes and coaches in women's collegiate basketball."

The Lady Vols beat Rutgers on April 3 in Cleveland to win the 2007 NCAA Championship.

Earlier Tuesday, members of the Rutgers team said they have agreed to meet with Imus to discuss his comments.

During a recent radio broadcast Imus called the Rutgers players "nappy-headed hos" while discussing the championship game.

‘Lady’ name will stay, top UT ladies say

At the Women’s Final Four in Cleveland last week, a reporter generated some discussion about women’s basketball teams using the word “Lady” to differentiate themselves from the men’s programs. Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, for instance, dropped the “Lady” from the Scarlet Knights nickname when she joined the program 12 years ago.

Pat Summitt, coach of the Lady Vols, said the nickname would never change at Tennessee. The reporter, and some officials in women’s basketball, scoffed.

The argument is simple: No men’s team goes by “Gentleman,” it’s 2007 and women are striving for equality.

And dropping the “Lady” would be a great idea except for the pesky little problem that it doesn’t make sense and very few, if any, women at Tennessee want to see the name changed. Good for them.

What’s so wrong with being called a lady?

I posed the question Monday to the head lady of the Lady Vols, the queen of the most successful women’s athletic program in the country. Joan Cronan is the women’s athletic director at Tennessee, and she looked at her three consecutive SEC all-sports trophies as she spoke.

“It’s never really bothered me to be called a lady,” she said. “I don’t think that’s demeaning.”

And you, Pat Summitt?

“Nicky Anosike would be the first to tell you that we’re proud to be called ladies and Lady Vols,” Summitt said, referring to her fierce and competitive center.

As someone who would like to see women’s sports succeed, I realize the game needs better marketing and promoting to flourish. Dropping the “Lady” from nicknames, while possibly being more politically correct in a world where people are offended so easily, does not accomplish either.

Many programs, like Rutgers, canned the term in recent years. Who noticed? What did it change? Not much. “Lady” or no “Lady,” there will always be people like radio personality Don Imus, whose recent descriptions of the Rutgers players are so troubling I will not repeat them here.

Tennessee, meanwhile, has brilliantly marketed and branded the “Lady Vols” name and logo. It gives Tennessee fans a separate identity that spurs pride, not feelings of patronization. You could argue that, by dropping the “Lady,” Tennessee would be hurting its brand and, as the most recognized women’s team in the country, damaging the sport.

“That Lady Vol logo is known throughout this country and throughout the world,” Summitt said.

And it’s doubtful anyone believes the bullying Anosike, the talented Candace Parker or the trashtalking Shannon Bobbitt are any less tough because they wear the name “Lady” with pride.

Sue Donohoe, vice president for Division I women’s basketball at the NCAA, said if a push existed for the NCAA to consider eliminating “Lady” from all nicknames, “it would have to be something certainly that would be driven from our membership up to be activated and discussed on a national platform.” Could a change be enforced?

No way, Cronan said.

“Would McDonald’s give up their arches?” she said. “If you have a logo and you have a brand, why would you change it?”

If women’s teams were tagged by one of Imus’s traits, then we have a problem. But tagging a nickname with “Lady” doesn’t appear to disrespect anyone at Tennessee. They are proud to possess their own identity. They are proud to be ladies. Women’s sports are different. In many regards, they are far more representative of the NCAA’s mission than men’s sports.

Cronan doesn’t need to drop the “Lady” to prove her program outpaces the men.

Those three SEC allsports trophies are plenty.

Fans greet UT coaches during Milan visit

MILAN - From the second he arrived Monday in Milan for the first stop of this year's Big Orange Caravan, Bruce Pearl heard the pleas from University of Tennessee fans.

"I've never been thanked as much as I have today for keeping my shirt on," said UT's head men's basketball coach. He earned national headlines in January for cheering shirtless in the student section during a Lady Vols basketball game.

"I'm going to keep my shirt on, but the 'Vols' is still painted on my chest," he said.

Much to the relief of a sell-out crowd of orange-clad West Tennesseans, Pearl kept his word and just signed autographs along with UT women's basketball coach Pat Summitt and Vols football coach Phillip Fulmer. They attended a 7:30 a.m. breakfast in the First Baptist Church gymnasium.
Summitt, who wore an orange cheerleader uniform and sang "Rocky Top" in support of the UT men's basketball team during a home game in March, also played it cool. The former Tennessee Martin basketball standout left her cheerleader uniform at home in favor of an orange blazer.

Instead of wasting all day talking about her wardrobe, Summitt spent most of her time discussing the Lady Vols, who won the program's first national title in nine years last week with a 59-46 victory over Rutgers. Summitt also shared what she told her players during a timeout facing a 12-point deficit against North Carolina in the national semifinals.

"I looked at each one of them and screamed 'We're not leaving here without a national championship,'" said Summitt, who has won more games (947) than any other coach in college basketball history and more national titles (seven) than any women's coach. "And we didn't."

Pearl had nothing but kind words for Summitt, a Hall-of-Famer who is the only person to have two courts used by NCAA Division I basketball teams named in her honor (UT Martin and UT). Summitt has coached the Lady Vols for 33 years.

"How about those Lady Vols?" Pearl said. "Pat keeps setting the bar so high."

Pearl, though, has done OK in his own right, taking the UT men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons. The Vols advanced to the "Sweet 16" this season before falling to eventual runner-up Ohio State. They finished with the second-most wins (24) in school history.

They lose senior Dane Bradshaw to graduation, but expect junior Chris Lofton to return after averaging 20.8 points per game.

Pearl credited a lot of this season's success to a recruiting class that included three top-50 recruits in Ramar Smith, Duke Crews and Bolivar graduate Wayne Chism.

Chism, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward/center, became a starter midway through the season and finished as UT's top-rebounder (5.2 per game) and fourth-leading scorer (9.1 points per game). Despite his size, Chism showed an ability to step out and hit shots from the perimeter, making 26 3-pointers this season.

Pearl said Chism is capable of expanding his game next season.

"Offensively, I think you'll continue to see him face the basket more and more," Pearl said. "I think his game is going to continue to evolve, and his body is going to get bigger, stronger and more flexible."

Speaking of recruits, Pearl said he always knows what kind of players to expect from West Tennessee, known for its run-and-gun style.

"There's no question West Tennessee is where most of the best high school basketball is being played," Pearl said. "We're trying to play West Tennessee basketball in East Tennessee. I know if I get a player from out this way, there's not going to be a big adjustment."

Fulmer, who has been head coach of UT football since 1992, is also familiar with West Tennessee athletes, having coached area products such as Chad Clifton and Justin Harrell from Martin and Al Wilson, Trey Teague and Jabari Greer from Jackson.

Coming off a 9-4 season and an appearance in the Outback Bowl, the Vols added another area standout in this year's recruiting class in Huntingdon linebacker Chris Donald. Fulmer's mention of Donald drew cheers during Monday's breakfast. Donald is a Parade and USA Today All-American, who is rated the nation's top linebacker by Rivals.com.

"I don't know if they were cheering because he's coming to Tennessee or because they don't have to play against him again," said Fulmer, still unsure whether Donald will play or redshirt next fall. "He does bring a level of ability we're looking for and we do have a need for his immediate service. He has tremendous instincts that you can build on."

Sports Illustrated to Publish Special Collector's Edition Commemorating Tennessee's 2007 NCAA Title

Lady Vols Keepsake Issue to Hit Newsstands Beginning Today



New York - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PRESENTS has published a special collector's issue commemorating the Lady Vols' 7th National Championship. The 80-page magazine, with a limited press run of 110,000 copies, will begin hitting newsstands throughout the state of Tennessee today at area retailers including Kroger, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Food City, Food Lion and Ingles. The special edition, which will be sold at a price of $6.99, features NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Candace Parker on its cover with a billing that reads, "2007 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS...LADY VOLS."

Highlights of the special issue include:

A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME:

* Women's basketball has made enormous strides thanks in larger part to a certain mother and coach in Tennessee orange, writes Andrew Lawrence.

THE 2006-07 SEASON IN PICTURES:

* Tennessee tamed a typical tough nonconference schedule and went undefeated in the SEC for the eighth time.

2007 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP:

* Tournament Brackets: Several early-round upsets cleared the path to Cleveland for Tennessee.
* Hitting the Road: The Lady Vols made a rare trip out of Tennessee for the first two rounds, but it was Drake and Pittsburgh who were sent packing, writes Andrew Lawrence.
* Two Over Easy: The big, bad Lady Vols hammered Cinderella's Marist and Ole Miss and continued their own fairy tale by advancing to the Final Four, writes Andrew Lawrence.
* About a Team: Exhorted by their coach and inspired by one another, the Lady Vols refused to leave Cleveland without delivering to coach Pat Summit her seventh national championship, writes Kelli Anderson.
* The Belle of the Ball: At the Big Dance, Candace Parker showed why she is the most talented player in the history of women's basketball, writes Andrew Lawrence.

TENNESSEE HISTORY:

* The Greatest Lady Vols of All Time: The Lady Vols' rich basketball history includes seven NCAA titles, three players of the year, the Naismith Player of the Century and the winningest college basketball coach ever. So assembling an all-time Tennessee team from the dozens of deserving candidates is a task for which no one would volunteer.
* Eyes of the Storm: What's behind the steely-eyed focus of Pat Summit, college basketball's winningest coach and the whirlwind force that has carried the Lady Vols to seven national titles? - By Gary Smith

As with all SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PRESENTS commemorative issues, this special collector's edition is separate from the current weekly issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, which features an action shot of Florida's Corey Brewer and is dated April 9, 2007.

Tennessee's Parker wins Wooden Award

LOS ANGELES - Candace Parker completed her own version of the triple crown.

Parker captured the John R. Wooden Award on Saturday, becoming the youngest women's player to win the award.

A redshirt sophomore, the 20-year-old Parker led Tennessee to its seventh national championship Tuesday night, scoring 17 points in a 59-46 victory over Rutgers.

Parker, who also was named the Most Outstanding Players of the Final Four, earned her first major honor on March 31 when she won the Wade Trophy.

The 6-4 Parker averaged 19.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in leading the Lady Vols to a 34-3 record.

"I want to thank the John R. Wooden committee, my teammates, coaches, family and opponents," Parker said. "This is such an honor. I am so blessed to be a part of women's basketball and its growth."

Parker had to beat out a stellar field of finalists, including Naismith Award winner Lindsey Harding of Duke, sophomore center Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, senior point guard Ivory Latta of North Carolina and junior center Sylvia Fowles of Louisiana State.

Parker is the first woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game, accomplishing the feat twice against Army in a first-round game in 2006.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, and one of the most highly publicized recruits in women's basketball history, Parker already holds school single-season records for blocked shots (99), free throws attempted (232) and free throws made (166).

Summitt rewards assistant coaches with cars

Lady Vols celebrate their seventh national championship

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee coach Pat Summitt had a big surprise for her three assistant coaches at the Lady Vols’ victory celebration Wednesday.

Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell, both former players, and fellow assistant Dean Lockwood were each presented a Mercedes SLK 280 roadster by a local dealership.

The three looked stunned and the players cheered in excitement and ran to the cars that were driven inside the city’s convention center, used for the event because Thompson-Boling Arena is undergoing renovations.

“Maybe Dean can find a woman,” Summitt said after the presentation, and Lockwood, a former men’s coach, stood up and shook the keys to his new ride at the screaming crowd.

On Tuesday night in Cleveland, Tennessee beat Rutgers 59-46 for its seventh national title and first since the Lady Vols won three straight from 1996-98.

“How are the greatest basketball fans in the country?” Summitt asked the big crowd of people mostly wearing orange and many already donning championship T-shirts. “I just want to thank you for really setting the standard. You have been awesome.”

“Obviously, I’m extremely proud to be your coach and coach of the team that brought home the 2007 national championship!”

The fans in attendance included football coach Phillip Fulmer and men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl. They had planned to attend the game Tuesday night but couldn’t take off from the airport because of a bad storm.

T-shirts and other championship memorabilia have already gone on sale in Knoxville. The school is issuing a season highlights DVD for the first time.

Wednesday was declared a special day for the Lady Vols by Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam and Knox County mayor Mike Ragsdale.

After waiting so long to win another crown, Summitt let loose a little and even took a jab at arch-nemesis Connecticut. She thanked Tennessee president John Petersen for his support, particularly wearing the same orange socks to all the NCAA tournament games. Petersen was provost at UConn before being hired to oversee the statewide university system

“The best decision he ever made was to get out of Connecticut!” Summitt said. And the fans roared some more.

The Lady Vols brought the trophy with them, and women’s athletic director Joan Cronan said there will be room in a large glass case outside Summitt’s office in the arena that already holds the other six.

“We have a spot,” Cronan said before the ceremony. “We’ve been waiting for it.”

Summitt called out each player and described how important each was to the title run.

Candace Parker, who had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists Tuesday night and was selected the Most Outstanding Player, becoming the fifth Lady Vol to be so honored. She follows Chamique Holdsclaw (1998, 1997), Michelle Marciniak (1996), Bridgette Gordon (1989) and Tonya Edwards (1987).

As the Lady Vols were making their run through the NCAA tournament, Summitt said she believed this team had the ingredients to win a national championship that previous teams had been missing. First on the list was a go-to player like the 6-foot-4 Parker, who is so versatile she’s listed as a forward, guard and center in the media guide.

Next, Summitt added speed on the perimeter mainly with the signing of junior college point guard Shannon Bobbitt, at 5-foot-2 the smallest player ever at Tennessee. Bobbitt’s arrival meant Alexis Hornbuckle could go back to shooting guard and continue to bring energy defensively.

Senior Sidney Spencer brought a shooting touch she’s improved on every year. Center Nicky Anosike became obsessed with rebounding and was often used to defend an opponent’s best perimeter player.

The title game wasn’t Parker’s best outing. Every player working together helped the Lady Vols win.

Summitt thanked Hornbuckle and Anosike for their leadership.

Bobbitt hit a 3 to score the first points in the national championship game, and Spencer followed with a jumper to get Tennessee rolling. Bobbitt finished with 13 points, Spencer had 11 and reserve Alberta Auguste, another junior college transfer, added 10.

When Bobbitt let loose her first shot, Summitt said, “I was like ’Noooo! Good shot Shannon!”’

Anosike had a career-high 16 rebounds, 10 on offense. Tennessee chancellor Loren Crabtree remarked about how Anosike was majoring in three subjects and has added a fourth — rebounding.

Spencer, Dominique Redding and former manager Elizabeth Curry are the only seniors.

“What a way to go out — on top,” Spencer told the crowd.

Summitt has shown no signs of letting up in her 33rd year with the Lady Vols.

She took the team to its first Final Four in 1977 when it was in the AIAW and won the school’s first title in 1987. Since the three-peat from 1996-98, the Lady Vols went to six Final Fours and also reached the finals in 2000, 2003 and 2004, each time losing to Connecticut.

Summitt has four incoming freshmen to look forward to next season when Tennessee goes for championship No. 8: 6-foot guard Angie Bjorklund of Spokane, Wash.; 6-4 forward Vicki Baugh of Sacramento, Calif.; 6-6 center Kelley Cain of Atlanta; and 5-10 guard Sydney Smallbone of South Bend, Ind.

During the ceremony, Summitt sat next to her son, Tyler, who turned 16 last fall.

“Thank you for being great fans,” Tyler Summitt told the crowd. “We’ll see you next year in Tampa!”

Quickly, Summitt took back the microphone for a last word: “Even my son puts pressure on me.”

But everybody on Rocky Top is looking forward to the next championship.

Quotes from Wednesday's NCAA Press Conference

The Lady Vols answered questions about winning the NCAA Championship

JUDY SOUTHARD
Chair - NCAA Women's Basketball Committee

On the tournament:
"Last night 20,704 people -- the 15th sellout in the 26 year history of the tournament -- had the opportunity to see a truly fine basketball team win our National Championship. I'd be remiss if I once again did not thank the people of Cleveland for everything they did for our coaches, our student-athletes and our fans to provide us with a truly memorable experience. We had the opportunity last night to be with Tennessee when they had their welcome by their fans and it's truly a magical moment when you have the chance to experience something like this. I certainly would like to take this opportunity once again, Pat (Summitt) to congratulate you and your student-athletes on a truly remarkable season and congratulations on your seventh National Championship."

Pat Summitt
Tennessee Head Coach

Opening Statement:
"Obviously, I'm really proud of our basketball team. It was a very special night for us with just the effort that this team put forth and the environment we were able to be in. All the Tennessee fans that came out to follow this team throughout the tournament, it was just amazing the number of Lady Vols fans that supported us, which I thought really inspired our basketball team. Certainly, this group has been just exceptional in terms of wanting to come together to have one common goal and to hold each other accountable along the way. This one has been a team and a journey that was a joy to coach. It is a team that had great passion for getting it right. They obviously came together at the right time. This group will always be very special to me."

On the subtle changes she made by moving Sidney Spencer in tournament play:"I think being able to play Sidney in the post defensively allowed us to have the quickness and athleticism and size on the perimeter. Sidney had never defended on the post, but I said let's go with it, and we stuck with it. And, it worked for us throughout the tournament."

On the team's balanced attack:
"I think all year we've been a team committed to our defense and our board play and going inside. In the game last night, we did have a little bit more balance because Candace (Parker) drew so much attention. Rutgers is such a great defensive team, they really tried to take away our paint points. I thought they had a good defensive scheme, but we had other people step up and make good plays for us. Certainly, controlling the boards was important. I think this was a great team effort. Shannon Bobbitt got hot for us and I thought that really took the pressure off us. It was a total team effort and win. Candace has been our go-to player, but the thing about this team is that they have all worked hard in all aspects of their game. When people double and triple-team Candace, the other players have stepped up and made plays. I thought last night was a great example of that.

On what defines this National Championship from others:
"I think every team that has been on that platform and won a National Championship, you remember for certain things. I know with this team, we really had a tight-knit group that really policed themselves and each other. We had great leadership. The togetherness of this team was something that was very, very special. It's not something that a coach can force on a team. It's something the players have to determine for themselves. I know this team wanted to win. I sensed that in our practices from the beginning and as we faced some adversity along the way. This is something we hadn't done in the last few years. When I think about this team, I think about a team that took ownership for what they wanted to do and how they went about it. They are a team, that for me, I enjoyed coaching so much because sometimes I feel like I didn't have to coach them, they coached themselves.

Alexis Hornbuckle
Sophomore - Forward/Center/Guard

On the contributions of Shannon Bobbitt and Alberta Auguste:
"Shannon and Alberta definitely stepped up last night. Shannon was great from three-point and Alberta filled her role and then some. She gave us a boost on offense and played good defense too."

Candace Parker
Junior - Guard

On prospects for next year:
"It was funny because after we won everyone was asking if we were going to repeat. We're just trying to enjoy the moment right now because not too many people get the chance to be in the position we are at right now. Obviously, we are losing a great player in Sidney (Spencer) and I'm going to miss her outside shooting and her presence and leadership. Fortunately, we have a great recruiting class coming in and a lot of them are really excited to be a Tennessee and work real hard."

Nicky Anosike
Junior - Forward/Center

On defense and rebounding, carrying their effort into next season:
"I don't think we have a choice. We're talking about getting to Tampa and winning, we don't have a choice but to be as good as we were on defense this year."

On the difference in Cleveland from last year's regional:
"Cleveland has changed since the last time we were here. It's a nicer city. There's construction everywhere and we tried to dodge it, but it's all worth it."

Shannon Bobbitt
Junior - Guard

On being taken out after three-point attempt to beat shot clock:
"It definitely wasn't pretty. The previous game against North Carolina, it also happened, and as a point guard, you should always know the shot clock. I did it again, and I think I just had to sit down and think about it."

Sidney Spencer
Senior - Forward

On being part of the Tennessee legacy:
"As a little girl, I used to watch the '97, '97 and '98 teams and I always dreamed of being part of that. To now be in that same group and just create the legacy we did last night with that win, it was something special. Something that you dream about."

Bobbitt comes up big for Tennessee in title game

CLEVELAND - Size matters? Try and tell that to Shannon Bobbitt.

Tennessee's mighty 5-2 dynamo stood tall in the NCAA Tournament championship game, scoring 13 points to help the Lady Vols win their seventh national title with a 59-46 victory over Rutgers.

The shortest player ever offered a scholarship to Tennessee, Bobbitt shredded the Scarlet Knights with three 3-pointers in under three minutes midway through the second half to break the game open.

"I am speechless," said Bobbitt, who a year ago was named the WBCA Junior/Community College Player of the Year after leading Trinity Valley (Texas) Community to the 2006 Region XIV championship. "I'm getting so overwhelmed right now."

It's easy to understand why since Bobbitt and teammate Alberta Auguste were the first junior college players signed by Tennessee coach Pat Summitt since 1977.

"Watching Tennessee play, I always wanted to be on this team," Bobbitt said. "Now that I'm here, I'm so happy."

In a bit of irony, Bobbitt was matched up against Rutgers freshman Epiphanny Prince, a former high school teammate who scored 113 points in a game last year.

This time it was Bobbitt who delivered the big shots - most of them coming at the expense of Prince.

The Lady Vols were nursing a 35-28 lead when Bobbitt took over the game with 13 minutes to play.

She buried consecutive 3-pointers to build the lead to 13 and then forced a steal that led to a layup by Alexis Hornbuckle for a 43-28 cushion.

"I didn't want to let this game out of my hands," Bobbitt said. "I just wanted to play hard-nosed defense."

The junior guard did that and more, nailing another shot from the arc to build the lead to 46-30 with 10:13 to play and force Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer to call a timeout.

"Definitely, I wanted the ball," Bobbitt said. "A great shooter is going to always want the ball. I had to leave everything out on the floor."

Any chance of a comeback by Rutgers was snuffed out when Lady Vols superstar Candace Parker hit six straight free throws down the stretch.

"Candace is capable of a 50-point performance. You are witnessing the best player in the world," Stringer said. "But I'll tell you what broke our backs. It wasn't Candace Parker, I think we could have withstood that.

"The person that broke our back was Bobbitt."

(1) Tennessee 59, (4) Rutgers 46

CLEVELAND -- Up the ladder she climbed, and when Pat Summitt was within arm's length of the rim, she clipped the final strand of the net.

In one motion, the coach swung the nylon above her head and pumped her fist in the direction of Tennessee's hootin' and hollerin' fans.

The nine-year drought is over.

The Lady Vols reign again.

Showing it was much more than a one-woman team, the Lady Vols captured an elusive seventh national title Tuesday night, beating Rutgers all over the floor in a 59-46 win to reclaim their customary place above all other programs.

"We were a team that didn't want to be denied," Summitt said. "We weren't going to leave here without a championship."

After five Final Four trips since 1998 ended without an NCAA title trophy, the Lady Vols arrived in the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame intent on leaving with a shiny souvenir. And after beating Rutgers at its own game with a swarming defense and relentless rebounding, the Lady Vols have the rest of the country looking back up at ol' Rocky Top.

"This," Candace Parker said, "is why you come to Tennessee."

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer had hoped to win her first title, 25 years after her first national championship game appearance. Instead, Summitt won her seventh, 20 years after her first.

Parker scored 17 points to lead the Volunteers (34-3), but the most outstanding player got plenty of help from Shannon Bobbitt and a supporting cast of less-heralded teammates, who too often this season stood around and watched her.

Not this time.

The Lady Vols wanted this title -- badly. Almost from the outset, they outworked the young Scarlet Knights (27-9), who waited until the final game of an improbable tournament run to show their inexperience.

"Maybe we read the headlines or realized it was a national championship game," Stringer said. "We looked like a deer stuck in headlights. "

After building a 16-point lead and then holding off a late push by Rutgers, the Lady Vols spent the final 30 seconds dribbling out the clock under the Rutgers basket. When the final horn sounded, Dominique Redding flung the ball high enough to hit the scoreboard as Tennessee's players, some in tears, danced at midcourt as orange, blue and gold confetti fell on them from above.

"To win anything you have to be a tight team," Summitt said. "They believed in each other and they all had one goal, to be here in Cleveland and cut down the nets."

Rutgers, which knocked off No. 1 Duke earlier in the tournament, was attempting to become the third straight first-time winner following Baylor in 2005 and Maryland in 2006.

Summitt's 947th career win could be one of her sweetest. The Hall of Fame coach -- joined on the floor afterward by her mother, Hazel Head, in a wheelchair -- had captured six national titles from 1987-98, but had been shut out for No. 7 despite having some of her most talented teams.

"This is not about winning No. 7," Summitt said. "This is about this team winning their first."

Parker, too, had been looking to solidify her place among the best to ever wear UT's orange and white. She knew only a title would fulfill her legacy and allow her to be mentioned along with Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Bridgette Gordon.

She belongs in their class now. And, despite talk she would skip her final two years in Knoxville and turn pro, she's not going anywhere.

"I'll be back," she said. "I'm coming back to Tennessee. I'll be back wearing orange next year to hang the banner. We left our mark at Tennessee."

Bobbitt scored 13 points -- 9 of them on three 3-pointers in a lightning-quick span in the second half -- and Nicky Anosike, who made her teammates sign a pact in January to reinforce their commitment to winning it all, had 16 rebounds for the Lady Vols, who had 24 offensive boards.

"I've always believed that rebounding wins championships," Summitt said, "and our defense was a difference maker."

Kia Vaughn had 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Rutgers. But the Scarlet Knights made far too many mistakes (18 turnovers) and didn't have enough to challenge the Lady Vols down the stretch.

Several times, Stringer, back in the championship game for the first time since leading Cheyney to the 1982 game, put her hands to her head in disbelief at seeing unforced turnovers and lackluster defense.

Stringer had called her senior-less squad of five freshmen, three juniors and two sophomores, a "team of destiny."

As it turned out, only Tennessee will leave fulfilled.

"It hurts a lot," Stringer said. "But I still love this team. This was no doubt the most rewarding year I've had."

Trailing by 11 at halftime, Rutgers, trying to become the lowest-seeded team to win the women's tourney, settled down early in the second half by matching Tennessee's intensity and closed to 35-28 on Vaughn's putback with 13:33 left.

That's when Bobbitt, a 5-foot-2 bundle of New York City playground moves and energy, hit the first of three 3-pointers in a span of 2:43. The first one came after two offensive rebounds by the Lady Vols.

After a Rutgers turnover, Bobbitt drained another 3. As the Scarlet Knights brought the ball up the floor, Bobbitt was waiting for them. She forced a turnover that led to a layup by Alexis Hornbuckle, and for the first time all evening, Tennessee's fans sensed this might be the Lady Vols' night.

They were feeling even better one minute later when Bobbitt hit another 3.

Still, the Scarlet Knights weren't going to quit on Stringer, who earlier this season kicked her team out of their locker room and took away anything with "Rutgers" written on it because she felt they weren't playing up to the school's standards.

A 3-pointer by Matee Ajavon ended a 7-0 run that brought Rutgers to 50-42, but Parker made six straight free throws in 37 seconds to make it 56-44 with 1:08 left. As she went down the floor, Parker looked at the bench where senior Sidney Spencer was crying, knowing all the hard work during the offseason would end the best way possible.

Seconds later, Stringer, who dropped to 0-6 in NCAA tourney matchups against her close friend Summitt, began clearing her bench.

Still, this tournament ended the same way it has nearly one-third of the time since it started -- with Tennessee setting up ladders to cut down the nets.

"This is something we all wanted from Day One," Parker said. "I can't describe this feeling. It's amazing."

Tennessee Championship Notes

2007 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (34-3)
(Ranked No. 3 by AP and No. 4 by USA Today/ESPN/WBCA)
Record: 34-3; 14-0, at-large selection; No. 1 seed
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS: Defeated Drake 76-37; Pittsburgh 68-54; Marist 65-46; Mississippi 98-62; North Carolina, 56-50; Rutgers, 59-46.

TENNESSEE NCAA NOTES

• The 59 points by Tennessee was the second-lowest scoring output by a winning team in NCAA championship game history. The all-time low is 56 points by Louisiana Tech in the 1988 final.

• Tennessee made its 12th appearance in the national title game this evening and is now 7-5 (.583) in the championship game after tonight’s 59-46 victory versus Rutgers.

• The Lady Vols played in their seventh NCAA title game in the month of April this evening. With its win tonight versus Rutgers, Tennessee is 2-5 in those contests.

• In NCAA title games, the Lady Vols are 2-4 when scoring in the 60’s, 4-0 when tallying more than 70 points and 1-1 when scoring less than 60.

• In each of the Lady Vols’ previous title-game victories (6), Tennessee had registered at least 67 points in each.

• Tennessee has found success in the Final Four when the event is hosted by cities beginning with the letter C. The Lady Vols previously earned titles in 1996 and 1997 in Charlotte, N.C. and Cincinnati, Ohio, respectively. Tennessee added to that accomplishment with its victory in Cleveland this evening.

• Tonight marked the 16th all-time meeting between Tennessee and Rutgers, including the sixth in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols are 6-0 in the six tournament showdowns.

• Tennessee has ended the Scarlet Knights run in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, including a 76-69 victory over Rutgers in the Cleveland Regional semifinals (3/26/06).

• In NCAA title games all-time, the Lady Vols win by an average of six points (68.8-62.0). In NCAA title-game victories, Tennessee outscores its opponents by +14.3 (73.7-59.4). When the Lady Vols lose in a title game, it is by an average of 12.0 points (71.0-59.0).

• Pat Summitt is now 11-2 all-time versus Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer. The Lady Vols are 1-0 against Stringer at Cheney, 2-1 at Iowa and 8-1 at Rutgers.

• Tennessee Women’s Final Four Appearances (17): 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007.

• Tennessee National Titles (7): 1987, 1989 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007.

• Five schools have won multiple NCAA titles: Tennessee (7), Connecticut (5), Louisiana Tech (2), USC (2), and Stanford (2). The longest drought between national championships for each: Tennessee – nine years (1998 to 2007); Connecticut – seven years (1996 to 1999); Louisiana Tech – 19 years (last 1988); USC – 23 years (last 1984); Stanford – 15 years (last 1992).

• Tennessee is making its record 17th trip to the Final Four. The Lady Vols have made appearances in six of the last eight years, and 10 in the last 13 years. (Louisiana Tech’s nine Women’s Final Four appearances rank second ahead of Connecticut’s eight.).

• Tennessee is the only team to have participated in all 26 NCAA Tournaments.

• The Lady Vols have been the No. 1 seed is the 17th in the last 20 years.

• Tennessee has made 25 straight Sweet 16 appearances.

• The Lady Vols have never lost in the first or second rounds.

• Tennessee has posted a 45-0 record in the tournament vs. seeds four or below.

• 2007 is the 20th anniversary of head coach Pat Summitt’s first national championship.

• Summitt has the highest winning percentage in NCAA tournament history at 98-19 (.838), and owns the marks for most tournament wins, games coached (117), and tournament appearances (26). In Final Four records, Summitt is first in NCAA titles (7), Women’s Final Four appearances (17), and Women’s Final Four wins (19).

• Tennessee’s Women’s Final Four record is 19-10 for a .655 winning percentage, third all-time.

• Tennessee is 12-5 (.706) in national semifinal games. The Lady Vols are 7-5 (.583) in NCAA championship games.

• Tennessee entered the 2007 NCAA Women’s Final Four having won four-straight NCAA Tournament games. The last time the Lady Vols won the NCAA championship, in 1998, they had won 44 games in a row entering the Final Four, including 37 straight in the 1997-98 season. Their shortest win streak preceding a Final Four is three games (1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1991). The last three years they came into the Final Four having won four straight.

• The only time Tennessee had won an NCAA title in the month of April previous to tonight over Rutgers was in 1989. The Lady Vols’ five other titles were won in late March. Tennessee had an opportunity to win five additional titles in April prior to tonight, but came up empty each time (1984, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2004).

TENNESSEE TEAM NOTES

• The Lady Vols pulled down 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and converted those caroms into 13 second-chance points. In the game, Tennessee collected 24 offensive rebounds and registered 22 second-chance points.

• Tennessee had as many offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes as Rutgers had total rebounds.

• The Lady Vols’ 29 first-half points matched Tennessee’s scoring output vs. the Scarlet Knights in their last meeting, in the regional semifinal of the 2006 Cleveland Regional. The Lady Vols led the 2006 meeting at the half, 29-27.

• Tennessee connected on two three-pointers in the first-half vs. Rutgers. In the entire game against North Carolina in the national semifinals, the Lady Vols made only two three-pointers.

• After making two of their first three shots, the Lady Vols missed their next 10 attempts before a lay-up by Candace Parker with 11:30 remaining in the first half broke the shooting drought.

• Tennessee held Rutgers to two three-pointers, marking the third time this tournament that the Lady Vols have limited their opponents to two triples.

• Tennessee is 13-1 vs. Rutgers when scoring at least 58 points. The only loss when scoring more than that mark came on Jan. 17, 1994 in an 87-77 Scarlet Knight’s victory.

• Tennessee has matched up vs. a school from the BIG EAST in the title game on four previous occasions, all against Connecticut. The Huskies have gotten the better of the meetings, as they are 4-0 in those games. Connecticut defeated the Lady Vols in 2004 (70-61), 2003 (73-68), 2000 (71-52) and 1995 (70-64). The average scoring margin for Tennessee in those game was –9.7, with the Lady Vols averaging 61.3 points in the games, while allowing 71.0 to Connecticut.

• Tennessee is 5-5 in the Final Four when scoring in the 60’s, 5-0 when scoring in the 70’s, 6-0 when posting 80 or more points and 3-5 when posting less than 60 points.

• Tennessee coach Pat Summitt has guided Tennessee to all 17 of its Women’s Final Four appearances, the most appearances by any coach in the game, men’s or women’s.

• Summitt’s overall coaching record stands at 947-180 in 33 seasons, all at Tennessee. She is the winningest coach, men’s and women’s, in NCAA history having passed UNC’s Dean Smith (880 victories).

• Tennessee is 7-1 on neutral courts this season. The Lady Vols last lost on a neutral court in the semifinals of the 2007 Southeastern Conference Tournament (LSU, 63-54; 3/3/07).

• The last time Tennessee played in Ohio in the Final Four, it defeated Old Dominion 68-59 in the championship game of the 1997 Final Four. The game was played at Riverfront Coliseum on Mar. 30, 1997.

• Tennessee is 18-3 against ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament, including 4-0 in the Final Four (56-50 vs. North Carolina, 4/1/07; 66-56 vs. Duke, 4/6/03; 70-67 (OT) vs. Virginia, 3/31/91; 77-65 vs. Maryland, 3/31/89).

• A BIG EAST team has ended a Lady Vols’ season only five times: Connecticut is the only current member of the BIG EAST to have handed Tennessee its last loss of the season: 1995 (70-64), 2000 (71-52), 2002 (79-56), 2003 (73-68) and 2004 (70-61).

• Three out of the five times Tennessee has carried a double-digit win streak into the Final Four, it has won a championship (1989: 15 games; 1996: 13 games; 1998: 37/44 games). The Lady Vols lost in 1988, riding a 22-game win streak, and in 2000, riding a 19-game win streak.

• The Lady Vols are 12-1 all-time in games played in the state of Ohio. The only loss occurred versus North Carolina (75-63) in the Cleveland Regional Final on March 28, 2006. Against teams from the Buckeye State, Tennessee has posted a 14-5 overall mark. The only teams from Ohio to hold winning series records versus the Lady Vols are Xavier, who registered an 80-65 triumph in Sweet 16, on March 24, 2001, and Cincinnati, who has three wins over Tennessee.

• Tennessee’s 27.0 percent shooting mark against North Carolina was the lowest by a winning team in women’s basketball Final Four history.

• Tennessee’s second-half comeback vs. the Tar Heels was the eighth-largest margin (12 points) overcome in the Final Four, semifinals or championship game.

• This is the seventh season in Pat Summitt’s career that the Lady Vols have won 33+ wins.

• The Lady Vols are 2-0 all-time, respectively vs. teams from the BIG EAST in Quicken Loans Arena.

• Tennessee has had four players from Ohio play for the Lady Vols. The list includes; Michelle Munoz (Mason), Shalon Pillow (Addyston), Semeka Randall (Cleveland) and Vonda Ward (Northfield). Both Randall and Ward were members of national championship teams at Tennessee.

TENNESSEE INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Candace Parker was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in two games in the 2007 Final Four.

• Shannon Bobbitt’s four three-pointers represent her top effort beyond the arc in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The four triples also represent the most by a Tennessee player in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

• Alberta Auguste surpassed her point total from the Lady Vols’ semifinal victory over North Carolina after she scored eight first-half points for Tennessee vs. Rutgers, including four straight at one point. Her five first-half rebounds were two shy of equaling her career high set vs. Ole Miss in the Dayton Regional Final. She finished the game with 10 points for her seventh double-figure game of the season.

• Nicky Anosike pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the game, including 10 on the offensive glass. The 16 rebounds tied for the third-most in NCAA championship-game history. She is tied with La’Keshia Frett of Georgia, who pulled down 16 in 1996 vs. Tennessee.

• Sidney Spencer led all scorers with nine points in the first half. She posted only seven points in the entire game against North Carolina. She finished with 11 points for her 50th career double-figure scoring game, including 23 this season.

• Candace Parker registered her 34th double-figure scoring game of the season and 67th of her career with her team-high 17 points vs. Rutgers, including 10 points in the second half.

• For the second consecutive game in the 2007 Final Four, Candace Parker notched her first points on the game at the charity stripe. She made both her attempts against North Carolina, while splitting her shots versus Rutgers.

• Candace Parker became only the fourth underclassmen ever to win the State Farm Wade Trophy when she was chosen as the 2007 winner. She joins Nancy Lieberman (Old Dominion – 1979), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut – 2003) and Seimone Augustus (LSU – 2005) on this prestigious list. Presented annually to the best women's basketball player in NCAA Division I, the Wade Trophy, named after the late, legendary three-time national champion, Delta State University coach Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball.

• Parker joins Daedra Charles (1991) as the only two Tennessee players to be named as the winner of the Wade Trophy.

• Semeka Randall and Kellie Jolly-Harper, members of Tennessee’s last NCAA Championship team in 1998 were in attendance in the Lady Vols’ tilt against Rutgers.

• As of 2007, Tennessee had a nation-high 93 players compete in the Women’s Final Four on 17 teams. Cait McMahan, Elizabeth Curry are two additional players who could increase that number. Shannon Bobbitt and Alberta Auguste joined the list in the first half vs. North Carolina. Every Lady Vol since 1976 (includes NCAA Tournament and AIAW Tournaments) has competed in at least one Final Four.

• Lady Vol assistant coach Nikki Caldwell won an NCAA title as a Tennessee freshman in 1991.

• Former Lady Vol All-American Semeka Randall (1997-2001) is an assistant coach for Michigan State, a Cleveland native and played in Tennessee’s first-ever appearance in Quicken Loans Arena (formerly Gund Arena), a 83-63 victory over North Carolina State on Jan. 29, 2000. Randall was a member of two championship teams at Tennessee (1997, 1998).

• Candace Parker’s brother Anthony is a 6-6 forward for the Toronto Raptors.

Tennessee Postgame Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement by the coach and then go to questions for the student athletes.

COACH SUMMITT: Before our game started we talked about the importance of playing defense. And rebounding the basketball. And I've always believed that obviously rebounding wins championships. And today or tonight I think we saw the effort on the board was significant in this win. And our defensive play was obviously a difference maker. We have struggled to knock down shots. We struggle because Rutgers has a fine defensive system. And it was probably two of the best defensive teams in the country going at it.

Obviously the boards really separated us out and it was great to see us execute when we had to and be able to take some time off the clock and obviously get to the free throw line and make free throws down the stretch.

I am so proud of this basketball team. It's hard for me to put into words what they have meant to me personally, to our coaching staff, to the university, to our fans. They have just been one of the best groups because they decided they wanted to be good in the off season and worked really hard and came together and they have been very, very coachable and we have just grown as a team and obviously our goal all along was to win a national championship. I just felt like they were a team that did not want to be denied and they did what they had to do to make it happen.

THE MODERATOR: And questions for the student athletes first.

Q. Candace, you said all along that this was never a one woman team and sometimes we didn't believe you. But Nicky Anosike's 16 rebounds and Shannon's four three pointers and Auguste's play off the bench in the first half and all those 3 points by Shannon, is this the best proof that perhaps Tennessee could have given that this was a whole team effort?

CANDACE PARKER: All year it's been pick your poison. I think if you take one option away we have four others and I was just proud at how everybody came together and fought and made corrections and adjustments and we just took it to them.

Q. Candace, can you just describe your feelings overall? Did they kind of just run the gamut of everything from joy to relief, I would imagine too. I mean, this is a big thing for you to accomplish in your career.

CANDACE PARKER: This is something that we have wanted from day one. And we set our minds to it and Nicky said on the way over here, it's weird because we said take it one game at a time and we really did just that. Our focus was just one game and then the next and the next and then we looked up and we were in the national championship game. And I can't describe the feeling. It's amazing. It's something that we have all wanted and I'm just happy that we did it.

Q. Candace, about the 12 minute mark in the first half you started really calling for the ball. Did you see something and did you really want the ball to go through the low post to work your offense a little bit more?

CANDACE PARKER: Our philosophy is inside out. And I think that we did that. And it opened up things for outside. I know when we did shoot the ball from outside, Nicky did a great job of getting early position and rebounding and things like that. So we really tried to run the ball through inside out, whether it's paint points, whether it's us ducking in and posting, things like that. So it worked out.

Q. Candace, could you just specifically talk about their defense against you. I guess they had Carson and pretty much playing you man to man at the perimeter and maybe kind of switched off when you went in the post to kind of a zone.

CANDACE PARKER: We knew that Rutgers is a great defensive team so they were going to throw a lot of different looks at us. Sometimes they came out and doubled when we got the ball in the post. And sometimes they came out and zone. So I think we did a good job of just moving the ball and just finding the open person. Once we settled down.

Q. Candace, will you be back next year and how difficult of a decision has it been?

CANDACE PARKER: Yes, I'll be back. I answered it. I've answered like I have answered it a bunch. I'm coming back to Tennessee. I answered it like a lot, so I guess I'll just say it one more time. I'll be back wearing orange next year to hang the banner in 2007. So that's all I can say.

Q. Nicky, was there something in particular that you saw in Rutgers, was there a soft spot that allowed you to get position all these times and get all these rebounds, especially on the offensive glass?

NICKY ANOSIKE: No, I don't think there was anything like that. I just think that Coach said before the game, offense sells tickets, defense wins games, and rebounding wins championships. And that really just stuck with me throughout the whole game. And I just tried to go out there and rebound to the best of my ability.

Q. Sidney, being the senior up here, speaking for you and Dom and Elizabeth being seniors, what is it like going out on top like this?

SIDNEY SPENCER: It's definitely a dream come true. Right now the feelings are all surreal and I haven't really let it sink in, it hasn't sunk in yet. But, I mean, it's just amazing and I'm so glad for this team and all the hard work has really paid off.

Q. Shannon, talk about those sequence earlier in the second half, seemed like you hit a 3 pointer, got a couple plays that not just ignited your team but yourself, you get a steal, couple of just a that whole little fury there that really allowed you guys to separate and get some breathing room.

SHANNON BOBBITT: First, I would like to say God is good and I just took what the defense gave me. And I just wanted to leave everything out on the floor. And that's what I did tonight.

Q. Candace, can you tell me what was the first thing that went through your mind when you realized you guys were going to win?

CANDACE PARKER: Just I think that at first it was just excitement. Realizing that we won. Obviously relief, obviously, because we ever done so we worked so hard to get to the point where we're at right now. We're just really excited that we're national champs.

Q. Alexis, can you talk about just the commitment to offensive rebounding you guys made tonight and could you sense a frustration on Rutgers' part because of that?

ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE: Well, I think Nicky said it best. When Coach said just emphasized that rebounding wins championships. And we have to allow ourselves to get second and third chances. We're not we hadn't shot the ball last night too well and we didn't really expect things to change. And if you go in like that, you're going to get the offensive rebound. Rebounding is not all about the height or who can jump the highest, it's about the heart and hustle and who wants the ball the most. And that's how we approached it.

Q. Shannon, Coach Stringer was a little bit frustrated that Epiphanny Prince didn't close down on you after you made one three and two threes, but she said the girl was shooting from four point range. You better get out there on her. Were you surprised that you wound up with that much room after you started getting hot?

SHANNON BOBBITT: I just definitely took what the defense gave me. I felt like I had enough room to release the ball. I stand five foot two, so I definitely got to create space. And I felt like I had enough space to shoot the ball and that's what I did.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. All five of you. Take questions for Coach now.

Q. Rutgers prides itself on their man to man. Were you a little bit surprised that they kind of fluctuated back and forth in the first half and the second half primarily went zone?

COACH SUMMITT: I expected to see some zone. I think that our basketball team just with our offensive execution versus man has been pretty sharp. And I really anticipated that we would see zone. We spend some significant minutes on just working and rehearsing all of our zone action. And because I told had our team even before the game, it won't surprise me at all if we see a lot of zone.

I think we'll see man in the initial stages, because with Candace Parker, in the offensive schemes that we have for her, she's much more difficult to defend if we're going against man. Because we can play her at all five positions. And get some good screening action.

In the zone, it's a little more difficult because they really packed it in. The good part of that is that's when Shannon hit her threes. I thought that was a key time in the game to really take some pressure off of us. And then our defense stayed where it needed to stay. But I wasn't surprised we saw a significant amount of zone.

Q. Do you think it's possible that next year we could see Candace elevate her game to a even higher level simply because she will have this whole pressure of winning a national championship off her back, she will have that relief and be able to play more freely even?

COACH SUMMITT: I think Candace is very serious about her game. So I think she will get better. I don't know that the pressure really affected Candace in a negative way.

I think she got a little frustrated today, but I think that had more to do with Rutgers' defense. We had some possessions where we really couldn't get her on the block. They did a nice job of playing from behind and forcing her out somewhat. And she's accustomed to and that came more in the zone than the man. And I think that probably caused her to face up more and fade a little bit in her shooting.

But Candace will be better next year because Candace is very serious about her game. And she's constantly working on it. And that's why this team sat here tonight and won the national championship is because of their dedication in the off season. And I just preach that over and over and over last spring before they went into their summer sc