A resolution commending Patricia Sue Head Summitt, head women's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, for three decades of excellence as a proven leader, motivated teacher, and established champion.

Mr. President, I join my colleague, the majority leader, in saying a word about Pat Summitt.

I am delighted the majority leader scheduled time for this discussion of Pat Summitt and submitted the resolution, which I am proud to cosponsor.

There are a great many superlatives one could offer about Coach Summitt. Perhaps the most obvious is sustained excellence over such a long period of time--as the majority leader said, 16 Final Four appearances, three back-to-back national titles, 107 NCAA tournament games, virtually undefeated on the floor of the Thompson-Boling Arena, which is now renamed The Summitt in her honor, always playing the toughest schedule, always high expectations.

I was president of the University of Tennessee for nearly 3 years. I remember going to a year-end Lady Vols basketball banquet because I remember the team had won the Southeastern Conference Championship and did not make the Final Four. Pat Summitt congratulated the players, but I remember the atmosphere was more like a funeral than a celebration because, obviously, the team did not meet the expectations Coach Summitt had for her players.

We live in a society of televised images in which we meet a steady stream of people who are at the top of their game for 15 minutes or for a few months or for a few years. But for Pat Summitt, it has been 31 years at the top of her game, and there is no end in sight.

There are a couple of other less obvious superlatives about Coach Summitt. One of these is unselfishness. The coaches whom she regularly defeats will tell you, to a woman or a man, that no one has done more to build the game of women's basketball than Pat Summitt. When she started, there were three girls at each end of the court playing in an empty gym. Today it is my favorite game to watch on television because of the skill of the players, because of the team play, because of the good coaching, and now because of the parity of the sport.

There are a lot of good teams, a lot of good coaches, and many of them are former assistants to Pat Summitt. It seems she always has a good word to say about this program or that program, this opponent or that opponent. Her objective is to build the game up as much as it is to win the game.

The final superlative is Pat Summitt's emphasis on academic achievement. Every young woman who has ever played for her over 31 years has either graduated or is working today on the requirements for graduation. That is almost as difficult as winning back-to-back NCAA championships. It certainly sets the right tone for college sports.

I know how proud I was as a university president to have that most visible symbol of our university have such high values. It is mentioned at all the games, people see it all the time. It is a superlative achievement.

This past year, Nicky Anosike, one of eight children of a mother from Nigeria now living in the United States, became a sudden star at the University of Tennessee as a freshman. There were six great recruits said to be the best recruiting class ever in the history of this country. Four of them were hurt. Nicky Anosike was not hurt, and she suddenly became a starter on the team and one of its best starters. Some people say she is a female Scottie Pippen at the top of his game.

As I suspect happens with many of Pat's freshman students, Nicky Anosike called home the next few weeks discussing with her mother how difficult it was to play for Pat Summitt because she demanded so much. Her mother said: What does she expect of you that I did not expect of you? That is the reason why I believe parents and young women want those young women to go to the University of Tennessee to play for Pat Summitt when they might be admitted to any school in the country. It is that for 31 years, Pat Summitt has brought out the best in those young women.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 97, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I rise to speak to the resolution that was just passed, along with my fellow Lady Vol fan and colleague, Senator Lamar Alexander, who is currently occupying the Chair.

This is a resolution honoring our friend Pat Summitt, head coach for the University of Tennessee women's basketball team, as one of the greatest coaches in NCAA basketball history.

For 31 seasons, Pat Summitt has served as the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team. When she first took the position in 1974 as a 22-year-old graduate teaching assistant, her team consisted of non-scholarship players who depended on her to wash their uniforms and drive the team's van. Only 53 fans witnessed Coach Summitt's first win that season. But from that day forth, Coach Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols started what is now an unprecedented winning tradition.

This season, Pat became the Nation's all-time winningest NCAA basketball coach, men's or women's, with her 880th career victory, surpassing the legendary Coach Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina. Along the way, Pat Summitt has achieved unparalleled results on the court, elevating the Lady Vols to one of the elite programs in all of sports.

Her resume consists of 15 30-plus win seasons, including one undefeated season record of 39 to 0. Pat has coached her team to six national titles, including back-to-back-to-back championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The Lady Vols played in their 16th Final Four this past Sunday as Pat Summitt set a new all-time record for Final Four appearances.

Following her remarkable run in the 1990s, the Lady Vols were named ``Team of the Decade'' by ESPN, tying with the Florida State football team, and on October 13, 2000, Coach Summitt became only the fourth women's coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The University of Tennessee has recently honored Pat Summitt by renaming the court at Thompson-Boling Arena ``The Summitt.''

Today I join together with the many Lady Vols fans in acknowledging Coach Pat Summitt for her service to her team, the University of Tennessee, and the game of basketball. Her dedication to excellence over the past 31 years has been exemplary and has made her a role model for future generations of students, players, and coaches.

Congratulations, Pat Summitt.

I yield the floor.