Pat Summitt always said, “Don’t throw me a pity party. You’ll be the only one there.”

The 10th anniversary on June 28, 2026, of Summitt’s death could have been a pity party and a sad day for all who knew her in any capacity. Instead, it turned into a joyous celebration of Summitt’s legacy with the induction of Candace Parker into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame – Chamique Holdsclaw introduced her – at a ceremony at the Tennessee Theatre on June 27 and the arrival of Tyler Summitt earlier that day with his wife and three children to see his mother’s exhibit in the WBHOF for the first time.

The family makes Ohio its home and as they departed, Tyler Summitt shared on social media that it was time to bring his children to Knoxville to see the impact of their grandmother, who died June 28, 2016, before they were born.

Ross Breck Summitt was the first child and will turn 8 on July 2. Rocky Jordan Summitt will be 5 years old on Nov. 18. Patricia Lakelyn Summitt turned 3 on Feb. 7.

He documented the journey with clips of the visit to the WBHOF to see Parker at the autograph session and tour the hall; a trip to the Lady Vols practice facility where they played basketball with Parker’s young sons, Airr Larry Petrakov Parker and Hartt Summitt Petrakov Parker; a trip to The Jenny Boyd Theatre on campus to see Lisa Soland’s PAT play; and a visit to Pat Summitt Plaza to see their grandmother’s statue.

All of the videos can be watched HERE on the Instagram account for Summitt Mindset.

The 2026 inductee class included Parker and players Elena Delle Donne, Amaya Valdemoro and Isabelle Fijalkowski; veteran coaches Cheryl Reeve and Kim Muhl; ESPN contributor Doris Burke, who wasn’t able to attend the ceremony and sent a video message; and posthumous veteran honoree Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, an All-American who set scoring records and still leads Clemson and the ACC in career points at 3,113. She died of cancer in 2018 at the age of 58 and was represented by her husband, Marvin Dixon.

Barbara Kennedy-Dixon (WBHOF photo)

The WBHOF hosted an autograph session for the class on the morning of induction, and the orange-clad line of people holding Parker jerseys, Sports Illustrated covers and other Lady Vols items wrapped around the building by 9 a.m. The Clemson orange also was well-represented for induction weekend.

Tributes to Pat Summitt filled media sites in the month of June, and Parker’s arrivals added to the extensive coverage. I spent considerable time on the other side of media with book signings, podcast appearances with former Lady Vols and television interviews in separate sessions with Alexis Hornbuckle and Glory Johnson, both of whom make their home in Knoxville that can be watched HERE and HERE. Johnson arrived for the interview after a session of training at the fire academy to become a firefighter.

I started covering the Lady Vols basketball in 1998 for the News Sentinel with a focus on everything happening off the court with Summitt from SI covers to an HBO documentary to her first two books and trips to the hometowns of all three Meeks – Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall – for feature stories. That would evolve into full team coverage for various magazines and websites over the years. I am the last regular beat reporter who still covers the full schedule of games every season that also covered Summitt, Holly Warlick and Kellie Harper and now Kim Caldwell.

Photo: Tennessee Athletics

The legacy of Summitt, who became the head coach of women’s basketball in 1974 – the Lady Vols didn’t exist yet but would come into existence two years later on a bar napkin as outlined HERE – has been well-documented.

Her announcement in 2011 that she had early onset dementia and death in 2016 just two weeks after her 64th birthday generated international coverage with tributes from the luminaries of sports and national figures outside the arena.

Parker used a moment of her induction speech to do something Hall of Fame players rarely do – mention the media. She thanked a long list of folks, and I somehow made the cut. This said way more about her than it did me. I saw her afterwards while I walking back to the garage and thanked her and she wrapped me in a hug and said, ‘You were there, too.”

Holdsclaw introduced Parker, who then paid tribute to the legendary player. Holdsclaw holds the Tennessee record, women’s and men’s, for most points scored with 3,025 and most rebounds with 1,295.

“You changed the game,” Parker said. “You are the best Lady Vol who has ever worn orange. You inspired an entire generation. You made me want to wear orange. When I saw you stop on a dime, pull up for a jump shot, the way you moved, your shimmy, your bravado, your New York style of basketball made me want to play basketball and made me want to wear orange.”

Parker’s speech covered a lot of ground in 20 minutes and the orange line running through it was Summitt. She put her own spin on Summitt’s classic orange outfit when Tennessee beat Georgia in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996 for the program’s fourth national championship.

“This suit is a rendition of one of my favorite looks that coach Pat Summitt wore on the sideline,” Parker said. “I cut the shoulder pads off. I kind of made it my own a little bit, but nevertheless a tangible representation and a nod to her.”

Parker’s full speech can be watched HERE. The full three-hour induction can be watched HERE and Holdsclaw’s introduction of Parker starts at the 2:29 mark. Parker and Holdsclaw sat side by side in the audience during the ceremony, and Holdsclaw said Parker was trying to read her notes.

“I remember coach Summitt telling me many years ago, ‘I found the next game-changer,’ and let me tell you something, Coach wasn’t lying,” Holdsclaw said. “What we witnessed over the years is somebody who has continued to knock down every bar placed in front of her, every expectation, every limitation, every stereotype about what women’s basketball could be.

“Candace just didn’t just meet the moment. She expanded it. She changed the way the game looks, the way the game is played, the way people talked about women’s basketball. Her skill set was ahead of her time, a player with the size of a post, the mind of a point guard, the footwork that honestly had defenders confused out there. I know this personally.”

Candace Parker and Chamique Holdsclaw dapped each other up on stage. (WBHOF photo)

What Summitt wanted most for her players wasn’t the trophies or the awards. She wanted them to form a sisterhood and be there for each other years after their playing days ended. Last weekend was a reminder that her players did just that.

The Los Angeles-based Can’t Retire Project founded by Melanie Page spent the weekend at Kern’s Bakery in South Knoxville with two days of events and podcasts about women’s basketball. I participated in one about storytelling with filmmaker Jason Rhee, who is working on a documentary about Eun Jung “EJ” Lee, one of the best women’s basketball players ever that too many people don’t know and her quest to become a head coach amid perplexing obstacles HERE. Lee’s Instagram accounts are HERE and HERE. Rhee can be found HERE.

The final podcast was a salute to Summitt and Tennessee basketball with a panel of Debby Jennings, who handled media relations for Lady Vols basketball for 35 years; Suzanne Barbre Singleton, who played on Summitt’s first team in 1974-75 and was the first player to last four years; Jennifer Tuggle Wallace, who played on the first championship team in 1987; Alexis Hornbuckle, who played on Summitt’s final national title team in 2008; and Meighan Simmons who played on Summitt’s final team in 2011-12.

The podcasts are in production but, in the meantime, follow the Can’t Retire Project’s Instagram account HERE.

Can’t Retire Project podcast participants Alexis Hornbuckle, Meighan Simmons, founder Melanie Page, Jennifer Tuggle Wallace, Suzanne Barbre Singleton and Debby Jennings. (Photo: Maria M. Cornelius)

“One of the best decisions I ever made was signing to come here to the University of Tennessee,” Parker said. “My continued desire to imitate Pat and how she attacked life every day proves why there is nobody like her. There are no amount or stories or words that can express the impact she has had on my life. Pat was one of one, a giant of all giants and all though gone 10 years, she is still leaving a lasting impact that we all can and should draw from.

“The state of women’s basketball today is actually because of Pat Summitt and her vision.”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition was released June 16, 2026. A third book, “The Legacy of Pat Summitt” will be released Nov. 17, 2026.