Pat Summitt steps down as Tennessee coach

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) - The most successful coach in women's college basketball is stepping down...

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — The most successful coach in women’s college basketball is stepping down.

Pat Summitt is leaving her job as Tennessee’s coach and taking the title of “head coach emeritus” with longtime assistant Holly Warlick being promoted to replace her.

Tennessee released a statement Wednesday announcing the move.

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Summitt will report to the athletic director and help the women’s program she guided to eight national titles. The 59-year-old Summitt said in a statement she loved being head coach but recognizes the time has come to step into a new role.

The move comes less than a year after her diagnosis with early onset dementia-Alzheimer’s type.

Warlick has been Summitt’s assistant for 27 seasons and was a three-time All-American with the Lady Vols.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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