University of Tennessee-Martin

Before we can talk about the Pat Summitt’s college career, we have to talk about the female educators who helped bring competitive sports for women back to Tennessee. Let’s start with Bettye Giles, who graduated from Clarksville High School in 1946. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Austin Peay State University and her master’s degree at UT-Knoxville. Giles was hired to teach health and PE at UT-Martin. She started a women’s tennis team at the urging of students like Lin Dunn. Fun Fact: Dunn became a women’s basketball head coach and led the Indiana Fever to the 2012 WNBA championship.

In 1969, Bettye led a group of female educators who established the Tennessee College Women’s Sports Federation (TCWSF). The TCWSF was a state-wide league, which joined the national Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1971. These organizations re-established competitive college sports for women. UT-Martin also created a new women’s athletic department and named Bettye Giles the school’s first athletic director, a position she held for 25 years. Also at UT-Martin, two PE professors helped establish the school as an early leader in women’s sports. Nadine Gearin was the longtime basketball coach and Lucia Jones was a well-respected volleyball and badminton coach.

Here’s something to keep in mind—colleges and universities didn’t offer athletic scholarships to women until the mid- to late-1970s. So, when Patricia “Trish” Head arrived in Martin, Tennessee to play basketball, her family paid full tuition. As a freshman in 1970, Patricia, dropped the Trish, and became Pat Head. Her arrival at UT-Martin coincided with the second season of intercollegiate play under TCWSF. Pat played volleyball and basketball through college. 

Nadine Gearin and Bettye Giles helped their star player tryout for the newly formed U.S. women’s basketball team. Pat made the team and played in Moscow during the 1973 World University Games, where she broke her jaw but still played in the gold medal game. Pat’s college career ended with a knee injury in January 1974, but as we all know, her basketball career was just getting started. The basketball court at UT-Martin is named for Pat Head Summitt.

The next stop is the University of Memphis, formerly Memphis State University, located at 3720 Alumni Ave, Memphis. Make sure you check out the Elma Roane Field House while you are there!