Lady Vols Honored by House

July 29, 2008

Washington, DC -- Madam Speaker, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is located in my district and my hometown in Knoxville, Tennessee. One of the main reason is that no college team in history, men's or women's, and no coach can claim the accomplishments of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team and head coach Pat Summitt.

On April 8, 2008, as the gentleman from Illinois just mentioned, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols captured their second NCAA Division I national championship in a row, beating the Cardinal of Stanford University by a score of 64-48. It was their eighth national championship victory, cementing Coach Summitt's status as the Nation's all-time winningest NCAA basketball coach in both the men's and women's leagues.

Coach Summitt, with 983 wins over 34 seasons at the University of Tennessee, is certainly a remarkable leader. Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting her in person knows the depth of her character, and it shows both on and off the court. Her 2008 team continues a remarkable 100 percent graduation rate. Every student athlete since she became head coach has completed their eligibility at the University of Tennessee, either graduating or workingtoward the requirements for graduation within the required 6-year time limit set by NCAA rules.

 I have always said that the colors orange and white are almost as patriotic in my district as red, white, and blue. I doubt there is any community that shows more support for women's athletics than the people of Tennessee. The Lady Vols regularly attract huge crowds to watch them play, sometimes as large as 25,000 people. It is easy to become overwhelmed with statistics when speaking of the Lady Vols. They finished this season with 36 wins and only two losses, the second most wins in a single season in school history.

 I especially want to commend Candace Parker, who won back-to-back most outstanding player of the Final Four, and some people say that she is probably the greatest women's basketball player of all time. I also want to congratulate Shannon Bobbit and Nicky Anosike, who both also earned All-Final Four team honors, and Alexis Hornbuckle who played and started in her 21st NCAA tournament game.

 I want to also thank all the members of the Tennessee delegation for cosponsoring this resolution, as well as 16 other bipartisan cosponsors from across the country.

I also want to commend the entire coaching staff, Pat Head Summitt, certainly the greatest head coach in women's basketball history; Joan Cronan, our great women's athletics director; and Holly Warlick, associate head coach; Dean Lockwood, assistant coach; and Nikki Caldwell, assistant coach, who is now moving on to become UCLA's new head coach. And I certainly appreciate the nationwide support for this resolution. And I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.