The name Summitt was made popular in American women’s basketball by the late Pat Summitt who for a long time served as Tennessee Lady Vols team’s head coach. Her son Tyler Summitt had hoped to continue with the legacy she had built, unfortunately, he found himself entangled in a scandal that truncated his coaching career and also cost him his wife. Tyler Summitt is now best known for all the wrong reasons.
Though his Wikipedia page still has “basketball coach” listed as his profession, Summitt stopped coaching in 2016, and considering the magnitude of his actions, chances are that Tyler may never get to give orders on a professional hardwood floor, ever again. However, that does not mean that Tyler’s life has come to a halt, yes he was wrong, and he regrets it and has a hard time dealing with the fact that he stained his mother’s legacy, but the young man has moved on and is living another life different from basketball and as far away as possible from the spotlight.
Tyler Summitt’s Bio
Tyler was born Ross Tyler Summitt on September 21, 1990, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is the only child of the late Pat Summitt and her ex-husband R. B. Summitt, II. Born to a mother who coached the women’s basketball team of the University of Tennessee, Summitt grew up to love basketball.
As a matter of fact, his mother had not nursed him for up to a year when she led the Lady Vols to the 1991 national championship title. Accompanying mom to practice and traveling with her for games and more, Summitt naturally gravitated towards the sport. He played at high school and with his mom being a coach, he had the edge to become phenomenal, and he was.
As a senior at Webb School of Knoxville, Summitt raked many accolades, among them Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well the school’s highly coveted “Spartan Award.” He attended the University of Tennessee where continued to play basketball. However, his college career was only short-lived as he played for just two seasons. But Summitt wasn’t giving up on basketball, he only sought to follow in his mother’s footsteps to become a coach.
Fresh out of college in 2012 with a BA in Communication, Summitt began his professional coaching career as an assistant at the Terri Mitchel-led Marquette University women’s basketball team. Two years of manning the team’s offense from 2012 to 2014 were enough to get him his first head coach job which came from Louisiana Tech University in April 2014. While at Marquette, Tyler took Masters’s in Leadership studies.
Summitt was doing well with continuing his mother’s legacy, but unfortunately, an inappropriate relationship with one of his players saw him kiss his $175,000/year job goodbye, and worse, it brought his career to an abrupt end. More on that inappropriate relationship, anon.
To make matters worse for the young man, his mother Pat lost her 5-year bout with Alzheimer’s disease two months later in June 2016. If it was any consolation, Tyler was named as the heir of his mother’s enviable estate. For the rest of his life, he stands to receive her state pension worth $173,520 annually.
After his shameful resignation, Summitt went back to Tenessee to study for an MBA which he earned in 2017. He now dedicates his time to managing his mother’s estate as well as other roles that require the expertise of an MBA holder.
Wife, Divorce, Affairs, and Relationships
Tyler Summitt, at the age of 23, in June 2013 married Anne Dennis Ragsdale, his high-school sweetheart. Throughout the period of their relationship, they attended the same school. She holds a kinesiology (the study of the mechanics of body movements) degree from Tennessee and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Marquette University.
Their marriage ended in divorce in June 2017 following her husband’s confession of having an affair with one of his players.
After the news of his resignation was out, media outlets began to speculate which of the players Summitt could’ve been involved with. The suspected two were Brooke Pumroy and Ashley Santos whom he coached at Marquette. The two ladies in their sophomore year moved alongside Summitt to Louisiana Tech. Rumors had it that Summitt’s affair had led to a pregnancy, however, it was never confirmed.
Santos took to social media to debunk the rumors, posting a photo of her bare belly to prove that she wasn’t pregnant. This made Ms. Pumroy the only other suspect. Months before Summitt’s resignation, allegations had come forward from players and their parents that he was giving Pumroy preferential treatment and would leave her on despite her repeated mistakes. She practically ran the team with Summitt, they alleged.
Reports were made to authorities before Tyler Summitts’ resignation.
