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Tyler Summitt

Founder at Pat Summitt Leadership Group and 1 other company
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Son of legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, Tyler Summitt is founder of Pat Summitt Leadership Group and Pat Summitt Foundation. A former college basketball player and coach, Tyler had a front row seat to his mother's impact on women's sports and women in business. He is passionate about continuing his mother's legacy of growing women in leadership.

As the winningest college basketball coach in American history at the time of her retirement, Pat Summitt was a staunch advocate of Title IX and a pioneer in her field. She coached the University of Tennessee Lady Vols from 1974 to 2012 and amassed more than 1,098 wins. During her career, Summitt won eight national championships and boasted a 100 percent graduation rate for her student-athletes. She was the first female coach to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the first female coach to negotiate a salary of $1 million. In 2012, Summitt was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, alongside other recipients such as Bill and Melinda Gates, John Glenn and Stephen Hawking.

Pat Summitt Leadership Group was created to educate and inspire individuals on leadership and success using the wisdom and principles of Coach Pat Summitt through her profound Definite Dozen. Part of Southwestern Family of Companies, Pat Summitt Leadership Group was founded by Tyler and is guided by a board of directors with the belief that Coach Summitt’s leadership wisdom can continue to have a profound impact on generations to come.

Tyler founded the Pat Summitt Foundation with the hope that one day, no family has to hear that a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The Foundation focuses on advancing research for treatment and a cure, providing care and support for patients and caregivers, and educating the public about Alzheimer’s disease. Tyler was 21 when Coach Summitt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

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  • “As a fierce competitor, my mom was proud of the Lady Vols’ championships and success, but she was also a huge advocate for women’s sports and women in leadership,” Tyler Summitt said in the release. “I know she would be proud and honored to be included in the expansion of women’s professional basketball into Tennessee.”

  • "My mom was always striving to get better. One of her famous quotes is, 'Here's how I'm going to beat you. I'm going to outwork you. That's it. That's all there is to it." It's the drive, the determination, the dedication that serves as the backbone of our bid to bring the Tennessee Summitt to the WNBA. As we celebrate women and girls in sports today, I'm thinking of my mom and her passion. Not just for basketball, but for those around her. Yes, she made women's sports better, but she also made all of us better -- and I'm confident the Summitt will too."

  • "You could say I was born into the basketball world in Tennessee because she was just not having me anywhere else," Tyler says. "When Mom's got her mind made up, there's no changing it."

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