SPORTS

Pat Summitt didn’t need to say thank you to an Iowa reporter. But she did

Andy Hamilton, and Annah Backstrom
Des Moines Register

Numbers tell part of the Pat Summitt story.

They tell the story of the imprint she left on women's college basketball's history book. A record 1,098 victories. Eight NCAA titles, which was tops in the sport when she retired in 2012. Thirty-eight seasons at Tennessee without a losing record.

But numbers don't tell the full story of Summitt's influence on the sport and the people she touched, both in the public eye and when the television cameras were turned off.

Jane Burns was one of those people. The former Des Moines Register reporter wrote a story in 1994 about Iowa coach C. Vivian Stringer's pursuit of her 500th career win, a figure that, at the time, had only been reached by Summitt and former Texas coach Jody Conradt.

Feb 5, 2009; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Pat Summitt has confetti poured on her head as she is interviewed after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena for her 1000th career win as head coach Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Stringer's husband, Bill, died of a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day in 1992. Four months later, Stringer's Hawkeyes beat Summitt and the Volunteers to reach the Final Four. The following season, Burns wrote a profile on Stringer and her rise to coaching stardom, which was fueled by a 1983 endorsement from Summitt when she was hired at Iowa.

Summitt asked Burns for a copy of the story and later responded with this note:

Dear Jane,

Thanks for the copy of the article on Vivian Stringer. It was very well done and Vivian deserved it. She is a remarkable lady.  

Best wishes for an enjoyable summer! 

Kindest regards,

Pat Summitt 

Legendary former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt sent this note to former Register reporter Jane Burns in 1994.
Legendary former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt sent this note to former Register reporter Jane Burns in 1994.

Burns reflected on the note Tuesday after Summitt passed away at the age of 64, five years after being diagnosed with early onset dementia in the form of Alzheimer's.

“Class=little things," Burns wrote on Facebook. "Did Pat Summitt need to send a thank-you note to a reporter in Iowa after asking said reporter to send her a copy of her story? No, she did not. But she did. At the end of our conversation for this story, Pat said she was looking forward to the day she, Vivian and Jody Conradt were all retired and they could sit on her boat and tell stories. I always loved that image, which has always stayed in my head.”

Stringer and women's basketball coaches around Iowa expressed their condolences Tuesday on Twitter.