Basketball coach Pat Summitt files for divorce

Legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt filed for divorce this week, just short of her 27th wedding anniversary, reports the Associated Press.

The Tennessee Lady Vols coach, who holds the record for the most wins in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history, cited irreconcilable differences in the divorce petition she filed on August 15 in Maryville, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. She and her husband, R.B. Summitt, have been separated since March 2006, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Tiffany Carpenter, a spokesperson for Tennessee athletics, told AP that the coach — winner of seven NCAA championships including this year’s — “considers it a private matter and doesn’t want to make a statement about it.”

Her attorney, Bernie Brillstein, told the Sentinel, “We’re working toward trying to effect an equitable solution, but only time will tell.” In addition, the AP quoted Bernstein as saying, “I think she is doing all right. Her son continues to live with her. He is in school. Things really haven’t changed that much for her.”

There are no custody issues involving the couple’s son, Ross Tyler Summitt, who is nearly 17.

Summitt, 55, who became the first millionaire coach in women’s basketball last year, has been inducted into both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She has received additional recognition from the U.S. Congress. She broke former North Carolina coach Dean Smith’s record for career NCAA victories in 2005, with her 880th win.

Husband R.B. Summitt, 56, is the president of the Sevier County Bank in the city of Sevierville, Tennessee. They married on August 23, 1980.

If you’re divorcing with children, it’s best to keep their routine and relationships as stable as possible — and that includes encouraging contact with both parents, even if the children only live with one parent (as in the Summitts’ situation). Click here for some professional advice on keeping the non-custodial parent involved in your child’s life.