COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Tennessee has played in every NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament since the event’s inception in 1982.
And more than eight years after her death and three leaders later, the Lady Volunteers remain synonymous with legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who guided the program to eight national championships — second in D-I women’s basketball only to the University of Connecticut’s 11 — and 18 Final Fours.
The Lady Vols, though, have not been back to the NCAA semifinals since winning title No. 8 in 2008.
Now it’s first-year Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell’s turn — following the tenures of former Lady Vols point guards Holly Warlick (2012-19) and Kellie Harper (2019-24) — to try to direct a deep run for the Lady Vols.
Caldwell’s debut season in Knoxville continued the program’s string of NCAA appearances, now at 43 consecutive tournaments, as the Lady Vols are 22-9 and the No. 5 seed in the Birmingham 3 Region. They’ll face the 12th-seeded University of South Florida (23-10) in the first round at 8 p.m. Friday in Columbus, Ohio, with ESPN televising the game.