Pat Summitt Steps Down as Tennessee Basketball Coach

Legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt will announce on Wednesday her decision to step down as the Volunteers coach.

Summitt, who publicly disclosed eight months ago that she suffered from Alzheimer's, will become head coach emeritus while longtime assistant Holly Warlick becomes the program's next head coach.

I've loved being the head coach at Tennessee for 38 years, but I recognize that the time has come to move into the future and to step into a new role, said Summitt. I support Holly Warlick being named the next head coach, and I want to help ensure the stability of the program going forward. I would like to emphasize that I fully intend to continue working as head coach emeritus, mentoring and teaching life skills to our players, and I will continue my active role as a spokesperson in the fight against Alzheimer's through the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.

Summitt, 59, will still have an active role in mentoring players, according to the Washington Post, but will be unable to sit on the bench during games.

I want to talk to them and let them know I'm still going to be there, she told the Washington Post. The thing is: I have to keep living and doing what I want to do, and those players mean the world to me. With having five seniors leaving, I feel obligated in a positive way to be there for the team.

Summitt coached at Tennessee for 38 seasons for a NCAA record 1,098 wins - the best for either men's or women's basketball. She won eight national championships as the coach of the Lady Vols and is considered to be one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all-time.