The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition. The team has been a contender for national titles for over forty years, having made every NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament since the NCAA began sanctioning women's sports in the 1981–82 season.
The team is frequently referred to as the Lady Vols; the formal "Volunteers" nickname is regularly shortened by many fans of both men's and women's teams to "Vols." The university considers either "Lady Volunteers" or "Lady Vols" acceptable.
The Lady Vols have won at least a share of the SEC regular season championship 17 times (with the most recent occurrence being in 2015), won 17 SEC tournament championships (with the most recent occurrence being in 2014), made 18 Final Four appearances (with the most recent occurrence being in 2008), and won 8 national championships (with the most recent being in 2008).
Overview
The Lady Vols were coached by Pat Summitt for over four decades. Under Summitt, the Lady Vols won numerous SEC titles, appeared in 18 NCAA Final Fours and 4 AIAW Final Fours, and won 8 NCAA titles including an undefeated season. Additionally, Tennessee is the only team to have appeared in all 36 NCAA Tournaments, including 34 Sweet 16s (23 of which were consecutive). Summitt's teams were known for participating in a grueling regular season schedule, often toughest in the nation, in order to prepare the team for the NCAA tournament. This tough schedule has caused Tennessee to build up rivalries with many prominent teams, including Texas, Stanford, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, and, most notably, Connecticut. Like other Tennessee teams, the Lady Vols compete in the SEC, which is historically a competitive conference producing several NCAA Championship teams this century. Within the conference, Tennessee's main rivals are LSU, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Georgia, with the series vs. South Carolina and Mississippi State gaining importance due to the emergence of those schools as national powers. Summitt led Tennessee to 1098 victories, with an 84.2% win rate. The numbers at home are even stronger, as Tennessee has won 91% of home games and 93.1% of in-conference home games.
Roster
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History
Early years
Lady Vols basketball began at the beginning of the 20th century. However, most "seasons" consisted of three or four games. The sport was dropped in 1926 and was not picked up again until 1960. Coach Joan Cronan went 8–10 over two seasons before being replaced by Margaret Hutson, who coached for four years with a 60–18 record.
In 1974, Pat Head was named the new coach. Head had previously played women's basketball for the UT-Martin Pacers (now known as the Skyhawks), and had just graduated.
Late 1970s
In the 1974–1975 season, Pat Head took over a 25–2 Lady Vols team. In her opening season, the Lady Vols won the TCWSF Eastern District Championship for the third straight year. However, the team finished only 4th overall in the TCWSF (they had been 2nd the previous two years), and were not invited to the AIAW women's basketball tournament. After finishing 16–11 her second season, Head directed two 20-win teams, winning back-to-back AIAW Region-II championships. 1978 included the Lady Vols defeating 3-time AIAW champion Delta State by 20, and Tennessee's first number one ranking. 1978 saw the Lady Vols participate in their first AIAW Final Four, where they finished 3rd. Head also recorded her 100th win during this season, a 79–66 victory over NC State. Tennessee finished up the 1970s by winning the first ever SEC tournament, and returning to the Final Four, where they finished runner-up to Old Dominion, 68–53.
1980s
During the 1980–1981 season, the Lady Vols went 25–6, and avenged their championship game loss to Old Dominion by defeating them three times. The team made it to the AIAW Final Four for the third straight year, but wound up as runner-up for the second consecutive year, losing to Louisiana Tech, 79–59. The coach was now known as Pat Summitt, having married Ross Barnes Summitt II in 1980.
The 1981–1982 season featured the first ever NCAA Women's basketball tournament. The Lady Vols were one of 32 teams invited and named a 2 seed in their region. In the region championship, the Lady Vols upset first seeded USC 91–90 in overtime to advance to the Final Four. They would lose their Final Four match-up with Louisiana Tech who ended up winning the tournament.