Peyton Manning: Pat Summitt Changed My Life Forever

When Peyton Manning sat down in Pat Summitt's office in 1997, he expected maybe 15 minutes of advice about whether to leave college early for the NFL. Instead, the legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach spent two hours helping a torn 20-year-old quarterback find his answer.

Manning was leaning toward the draft after his junior season. But something about returning to campus made him question that choice, so he turned to someone he'd come to admire across the university's athletic programs.

Summitt was in the middle of a rough stretch, watching her Lady Vols lose five of eight games after winning a national title. She had every reason to keep the meeting brief. But that wasn't who she was.

"She had a gift for making you feel immediately at ease," Manning recalls. That conversation helped him realize he wanted one more year at Tennessee, a decision that gave him irreplaceable memories including watching Summitt's team complete an unprecedented 39-0 season and three-peat championship.

The friendship that started in her office that day lasted the rest of Summitt's life. After her Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2011, she launched The Pat Summitt Foundation to fight the disease that would eventually take her life in 2016.

Why This Inspires

Manning now serves as honorary co-chair of Summitt's foundation, which has awarded over $6 million to organizations advancing Alzheimer's research, patient care and awareness. The work honors a woman who created unforgettable memories for thousands of players, coaches and fans during her record-setting career of 1,098 wins, eight national titles and 18 Final Four appearances.

"There's a cruel irony in the fact that someone who created such unforgettable memories for others was stripped of her own memory," Manning says. That's exactly why the foundation's work matters so much.

Health care leaders continue advancing conversations around brain health and early detection, building on the awareness Summitt bravely created by going public with her diagnosis. Her willingness to share her journey helped reduce stigma and encouraged others to seek help.

Manning keeps two basketballs Summitt signed for his children in his office. They remind him daily of a coach who took time she didn't have to help a young athlete make the right choice, and a friend who transformed how we think about women's sports and Alzheimer's advocacy.

A new ESPN documentary and live reunion special premiering this Sunday celebrates Summitt's legacy and the countless lives she touched with her trademark stare that could quiet a room and her ability to see something special in everyone she met.