The University of Tennessee has seen its share of sports stars and coaching greats, but arguably none as precious and immortal as Pat Summitt.

Pat Summitt has built a career not just highlighted with victories and championships, but of broken boundaries and honorable distinctions that would make any Tennessean proud.

As Coach Summitt approaches 1,000 career victories, many Volunteer fans, young and old, are reflecting on what has been one of the greatest coaching careers in all of sports.

Patricia Sue Head was born in Clarksville, Tenn. on June 14, 1952 as one of five children.

By the time she was in high school, her family moved to Henrietta, Tenn., where she could play for the women's high school basketball teams. Until the 1972 passage of
Title IX, American high schools were not required to have female sports teams.

Summitt went on to play for the University of Tennessee-Martin where she garnered All-American honors.

Summitt's success on the court led to a spot as co-captain on the first United States women's basketball team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Quebec, Canada, winning a silver medal.

An unfortunate ACL tear in 1974 would end Summitt's senior season, but open up her coaching career at the University of Tennessee at the age of 22.

Summitt would compile a 117-37 record in her first five years as coach, all while earning her masters degree in physical education in 1976. In 1978, the Lady Vols would compete in their first AIAW Final Four, finishing third.

The 1980s would bring Summitt to a glory once deemed unimaginable, as she led the Lady Vols to two NCAA national titles in 1987 and 1989, four SEC Tournament Championships, three NCAA Final Fours and one NCAA Runner-Up.

The 1988-1989 squad was one of Summitt's most memorable, finishing 35-2 with an NCAA title victory over rival Auburn.

The 1990s would be Summitt's most successful decade of coaching, as the Lady Vols captured four NCAA national titles in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Tennessee also won six SEC Championships and five SEC Tournament Championships.

Summitt's 1997-1998 championship team is regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time, going 39-0 while playing one of the hardest schedules in the country. The team included a top-ranked recruiting class and standout star Chamique Holdsclaw.

The 2000s brought Summitt similar success, as the Lady Vols captured back-to-back NCAA championships in 2007 and 2008 as well as six SEC Championships.

The back-to-back national championship squads were led by Candace Parker, a highly recruited center who by the end of her career would be considered one of Tennessee's greatest players along with Holdsclaw.

Over 35 years of coaching, Pat Summitt has compiled a 999-187 record at Tennessee, making her the winningest head coach in NCAA Division I history. Her resume includes eight NCAA Championships, 14 SEC Championships and 13 SEC Tournament Championships.

Summitt was one of the first inductees in the inaugural ballot for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2000, she also joined the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2000, Summitt was named the Naismith Coach of the Century at the ESPY Awards.

Coach Summitt has received NCAA Coach of the Year honors seven times, as well as SEC Coach of the Year seven times.

On May 22, 2006, Summitt became the first women's basketball coach to earn over $1 million in annual salary, as Women's Athletic Director Joan Cronan awarded Summitt a six-year contract extension worth up to $1.5 million by the 2011-2012 season.

In August 2008, Summitt made a generous donation of $600,000 to the University of Tennessee and Tennessee-Martin that supported the women's basketball program, including a $100,000 endowed scholarship for Lady Vols basketball graduate assistants.