I find myself remembering how Pat would give a speech, or enter a room, or just smile, and I attempt to emulate her. She was the best, in everything she did.
Love you Pat

She was what I always measured myself by. Was I gracious? Was I kind? Did I demand the best? Now I still measure myself by her courageous example. Can't wait to talk to her in heaven.

When I was at UT in the early 70's I played pickup basketball anytime I could find a game and a good rim. I heard there was a regular pickup game in the old, dark Alumni Gym so I went to check it out. It was pretty weird - there were guys but there were also a bunch of girls(!!!) playing. And playing hard. They pushed, shoved and threw more elbows than the guys. They boxed-out on rebounds, set blindside picks, and called their own fouls. And the meanest/baddest of the bunch was a girl named Pat. She bruised my hip bones and my ego many times!

That was the first time I competed against any girl that really had "game" and over the coming years I watched the evolution of Pat's round ball talent, her coaching discipline and the personal integrity she brought to the game. She challenged my thinking about pure competition, about women in sports and about the value of sports in a healthy society.