UM coach Katie Meier is emotional about facing her mentor, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who is stricken with Alzheimer’s. By Michelle Kaufman
When Katie Meier shakes the hand of Tennessee legend Pat Summitt in Knoxville on Tuesday, she will be thinking about far more than the nationally-televised State Farm Tipoff Classic between the seventh-ranked Hurricanes and third-ranked Vols.
Meier will be thinking back to 2001, when Summitt helped her get her first head coaching job at Charlotte. Meier was a Tulane assistant at the time, and knew Summitt and her staff through recruiting and coaches’ gatherings. It turned out that Summitt had been the graduate school roommate of Charlotte athletic director Judy Rose, so when Rose leaned on Summitt for a recommendation for the 49ers’ opening, Summitt made a strong push for Meier.
Meier also will extend her hand with compassion, as Summitt faces her public battle with early onset Alzheimer’s. The 59-year-old Tennessee coach, in her 38th year at the school, revealed in August that she had been diagnosed with the disease and has vowed to continue coaching and use her platform to raise awareness.
“It’s personal,” Meier said of coaching against Summitt for the first time. “Pat’s done a lot for my career. She had a very large hand in me getting my first head coaching job. She obviously saw something in me. I sat with her the first summer after I got the Charlotte job, and she asked: ‘How does it look?’ And I said, ‘I feel good about it. I think I can do a good job.’ She said, ‘You better, ‘cause I put my name on you.’ I’ll never forget that. Those steely eyes were there. She meant it. She was serious. And you’re not going to let her down. I’ve felt that connection with her ever since.”
Meier said she remembers the day in August when Summitt disclosed her medical condition.
“We were in a staff meeting, and I remember getting a text,” Meier said. “We got very quiet. Very solemn. We were concerned with how she’s feeling. It took watching her statement to deal with it, to see she’s a fighter, she’s prepared for this, under control, doing what she needs to do.
“You think about lifting her up, and it’s like, OK, she lifts you up. She’s going to get everyone through it. The coaching community is very struck by it, and really concerned, and nobody could have handled it as perfectly as she has.”
In order to keep her cognitive skills sharp, Summitt does 12 brain teasers on her iPad every morning over breakfast. Then, she heads to the office. Although she has given up some of the peripheral parts of her job, she remains fully engaged with the team and practices.
“That’s what I want to talk about — basketball, not dementia,” Summitt said. “I don’t want a pity party, because it is what it is.”
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell, a former Vols player and assistant, said her perception of Summitt hasn’t changed with the news.
“I see her as ‘Coach,’ ” Caldwell said. “I don’t see her any different than that. I see her as somebody who is still hungry as a teacher for the game, someone who still loves the game, someone who is still passionate about preparing her team for greatness. You’re going to literally have to put Coach in a wheelchair and get her out of there. … Only she’ll know when it’s time.”
Summitt reiterated on a conference call Thursday what she has been saying since August. Her mind is on basketball as much as it can be.
“Things haven’t changed,” Summitt said. “I love being in practice. I love our team. I love motivating every day. This senior group has pulled together. I’m excited about the season.”
The Vols will be the sentimental favorite this season, as they try to win a ninth national title for their coach. Meier said although she hopes to beat Summitt on Tuesday, she will root for Tennessee the rest of the season.
Asked what Summitt has meant to the sport, Meier paused and said: “I could spend two hours on that. It’s one thing to be the best at your profession. And she is obviously, obviously the best. When Pat wins, women’s basketball is happy. You know she’s special because when Tennessee wins, you’re happy for them. Even though it’s a sickening amount of time that they win, you say, ‘That’s good for women’s basketball.’”
Summitt’s generosity is what stands out, Meier said.
“Pat and her staff have been so helpful to so many of us,” she said. “They’re cheering for you, supporting you. If you ask, ‘Can I come to a practice and see how you work?’ they let you. They’re all about women’s basketball, especially coach Summitt. I am lucky enough to have had exposure to them and how they operate. I hope everyone in our profession appreciates what that program means to our sport.”
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