By now Pat Summitt probably has two or three rooms, a garage, a storage shed and her office full of trophies that she has amassed over the years. And all very deservingly so. There is always room for one more.

Summitt, the women’s basketball head coach emeritus at Tennessee, was selected as the 2013 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women’s College Basketball Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced December 12.  

This trophy goes back to 1999, when it was first given to Margaret Wade. The award is given each year to those whose efforts have made contributions of outstanding significance and have created a long-lasting impact on the game of basketball.

To be eligible, an individual must have been involved with the sport in a capacity related to coaching, broadcasting, college administration or the news media.

Summitt is the only coach in NCAA history with 1,000 victories and holds a career record of 1098–208.  She retired in 2012 after spending her entire 38-year career coaching at the University of Tennessee.   During her tenure, Summitt led the Lady Vols to eight NCAA Women’s National Championships and 16 SEC Championships, and was named Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year five times (1987, 1989, 1994, 1998, 2004).   On May 29, 2012, President Obama presented Summitt with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Directors, Summitt will be recognized at the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Awards Banquet on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 in Atlanta.  The Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Men’s Basketball winner is Lute Olson.  He will be honored alongside Summitt.

“If it’s possible to be both proud and humbled at the same time, I am at being named as the winner of the 2013 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women’s College Basketball Award,” Summitt said. “Any award associated with the name Naismith is a special award, and I look forward to receiving it in Atlanta next March.  I have always enjoyed my association with the Atlanta Tipoff Club and have appreciated all they have done to grow and promote the game of basketball.”

Past winners of the award include:

Former Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women’s Basketball Award Winners

2012 Teresa Edwards – former coach and basketball player

2011 Cheryl Miller – former player, coach and sportscaster for TNT

2010 Marsha Sharp – retired after 23 years as coach at Texas Tech

2009 Anne Donovan – former player and now coach at Seaton Hall

2008 Jody Conradt – retired Univ. of Texas at Austin coach

2007 Kay Yow – former coach at NC State – died of breast cancer in 2009

2006 Val Ackerman – former player, and first president of the WNBA

2005 Leon Barmore – former coach at Louisiana Tech Univ.

2004 Sonja Hogg – former coach at La. Tech and Baylor Univ.

2003 Betty Jaynes – former coach and WBCA consultant

2002 Billie Moore – first women’s coach to lead two schools to national championships

2001 Cathy Rush – former coach of Immaculata

2000 Harley Redin – former coach at Wayland College, with a 431-66 record

1999 Margaret Wade – former player and coach – first woman to win this award

By Nancy Morris