The Buckingham

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A year and a half after being diagnosed with early onset dementia-Alzheimer’s type, Pat Summitt, 59, has decided to step down as head coach of the Tennessee women’s basketball team. She will instead become a coach emeritus.

She coached the Lady Vols last season, but assistant head coach Holly Warlick, who is now the head coach, took on the bulk of the responsibility.

Summitt coached the Lady Vols for 38 years. She finished with a 1,098-208 record, and eight national championships. Last season, the team went 27-9, and lost to Baylor 77-58 in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

Summitt had not been feeling right for months, showing erratic behavior, before she finally decided to go in for tests in May at the Mayo Clinic. In her new role, she will report to the athletic director, and help out with the women’s program. She continues taking medications,  and doing a series of mental and physical activities to stimulate her mind.