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Tennessee Lady Vols: Five things that happened since last facing UConn

By Caleb Calhoun

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 08: The Tennessee Lady Volunteers celebrate with the trophy after their 64-48 win against the Stanford Cardinal during the National Championsip Game of the 2008 NCAA Women's Final Four at St. Pete Times Forum April 8, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - APRIL 08: The Tennessee Lady Volunteers celebrate with the trophy after their 64-48 win against the Stanford Cardinal during the National Championsip Game of the 2008 NCAA Women's Final Four at St. Pete Times Forum April 8, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images /

1. Pat Summitt’s suffered a tragic illness and death that sparked a Lady Vols slide.

Sadly, this is the biggest story of the two programs the past decade. It has everything to do with the UConn Huskies becoming the top program in women’s college basketball and the Tennessee Lady Vols slowly coming undone.

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The shift is an overall trend. And it started the year after UT’s second national title, in 2008. In 2008-2009, they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, missing out on the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever. That class became the first class in school history to never make a Final Four after losing in the Elite Eight in 2011-2012.

Something far worse happened before that last season, though. In 2011, Pat Summitt announced her dementia diagnosis. It probably explained the premature slide dating back to 2009, as she discussed drawing blanks while coaching on the sideline. A year later, she was forced to retire prematurely. Holly Warlick maintained the success of the regular season for the first three years.

But then it all came crashing down. Despite three SEC titles in three years, her team made the Elite Eight off a Cinderella run in 2016. And there were no Final Fours. Summitt tragically passed away that summer, which was the culmination of all the sadness that came from her announcement. They haven’t made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since.

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After the 2018-2019 season, the Tennessee Lady Vols had to do the difficult thing and fire Summitt’s longtime assistant, replacing her with Kellie Harper in an attempt to rebuild the program. That’s where they are now as they get set to renew their rivalry with UConn. It’s been a brutal road, but it all can be traced back to Summitt’s illness that took her life.