Subscribe to Full Court PressSEC Launches “We Back Pat Week” to Support Pat Summitt’s Fight Against Alzheimer’s
Birmingham, Ala.—The “We Back Pat” initiative to raise awareness and funding for the fight against Alzheimer’s disease has spread beyond the Knoxville campus that is home to the Lady Vols, as the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday its plans to observe “We Back Pat” Week at men’s and women’s basketball games throughout the conference.
Legendary women’s basketball coach disclosed her own battle with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, at the age of 59, last summer on national TV, along with her own plans to continue coaching supported by accommodations arranged with the University of Tennessee and her coaching staff. Subsequently, on November 27, 2011, Summitt and her son Tyler launched the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to aid the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Since then, Summitt has become the public face of the devastating disease and “We Back Pat” t-shirts and rally towels supporting the cause have become endemic at Tennessee women’s basketball events, and the university has designated three games expressly devoted to backing the cause.
Now, during the week of January 15-22, all 12 SEC member institutions will support the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund during their home basketball games. During the 17 women’s and 12 men’s games slated for the week, various efforts will be made to increase awareness of the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund. Twenty of these games will be televised.
Birmingham, Ala.—The “We Back Pat” initiative to raise awareness and funding for the fight against Alzheimer’s disease has spread beyond the Knoxville campus that is home to the Lady Vols, as the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday its plans to observe “We Back Pat” Week at men’s and women’s basketball games throughout the conference.
Legendary women’s basketball coach disclosed her own battle with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, at the age of 59, last summer on national TV, along with her own plans to continue coaching supported by accommodations arranged with the University of Tennessee and her coaching staff. Subsequently, on November 27, 2011, Summitt and her son Tyler launched the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to aid the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Since then, Summitt has become the public face of the devastating disease and “We Back Pat” t-shirts and rally towels supporting the cause have become endemic at Tennessee women’s basketball events, and the university has designated three games expressly devoted to backing the cause.
Now, during the week of January 15-22, all 12 SEC member institutions will support the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund during their home basketball games. During the 17 women’s and 12 men’s games slated for the week, various efforts will be made to increase awareness of the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund. Twenty of these games will be televised.
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Originally published Tue, January 03, 2012
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