PHILADELPHIA, March 28 -- Their friendship is nearly as old as their rivalry. Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt and Rutgers Coach Vivian Stringer have spent nearly three decades competing against one another on the basketball court and sharing each other's triumphs and tribulations off it.
They have laughed together, cried together and shopped together. They have combined for more than 1,600 wins. Now, these two women -- confidants more than adversaries -- stand in each other's way again. Summitt and Stringer face each other Tuesday night when top-seeded Tennessee (29-4) and third-seeded Rutgers (28-6) play in the Philadelphia Region final of the NCAA women's tournament.
Pat Summitt, who took the Vols' job out of college for $250 a month, recently became the winningest college basketball coach, surpassing Dean Smith's 879 victories.
(John Bazemore -- AP)
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"What can I say? She's a great coach," Stringer said. "We've had many battles over the years. She and I are personally very good friends as well. I like that because I think we probably embody what it means to be great competitors, to go after one another, but know how to be respectful and care about each other's families, want to do things together. We just have great respect and admiration for each other's work."
Each started coaching right out of college, at a time when women's basketball was lightly regarded. Summitt began coaching at Tennessee when she was 22, earning $250 a month. Stringer, who was 22 when she started at Cheyney State, claims she wasn't paid for her first 11 years as a coach.
"You've got to understand, people didn't charge admission," Summitt said. "We didn't have scholarships. We couldn't go out and recruit except on campus in the dorms. That was how women's basketball was viewed in terms of our sport, just a notch above the intramural level."
Summitt has gone on to have great success at Tennessee, winning six national championships. She is one of only three female coaches in the Naismith Hall of Fame and last week surpassed former North Carolina coach Dean Smith's record of 879 NCAA wins.
"I really think she is probably the single most important individual that's in the history of our game just because of all the things that she's done and the recognition that she's brought to the sport," Texas Tech Coach Marsha Sharp said.
Smith, who called to congratulate Summitt after she broke his record, has long been impressed with her will to win.
"I remember what a great competitor she was in the 1976 Olympics," he said. "It's obvious she has maintained that competitiveness all these years directing the Tennessee program."
For her part, Summitt is glad the hoopla surrounding the record has passed so that she and the team can focus on winning another national championship.
The record "was talked about probably more than I ever had imagined," Summitt said. "To have that in the past is a good thing. I don't even want to take a chance of any distractions at this point."
Stringer, a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, was the first coach to take three teams -- Cheyney, Iowa and Rutgers -- to a Final Four. Rick Pitino became the second this year after Louisville made the Final Four. He also took Providence and Kentucky to the Final Four.
"Certainly for Vivian to do it at three different institutions I can't imagine," Summitt said. "I can't imagine ever moving."
Stringer lags behind Summitt in one glaring category -- national championships.
"I would love to have a national championship," Stringer said. "It's not the be all and end all, but who wouldn't want to? I want to know how it feels. . . . I would like to know how I would feel, but I would like to know how the players would feel to win a national championship. I can't imagine because I don't know."
Summitt's teams have beaten Stringer's in most of their meetings. She is 1-0 against her at Cheyney, 2-1 at Iowa and 5-1 at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights, however, beat Tennessee, 65-51, on Dec. 29.
"I think it's really special when we can have the competitive type of games that we've had and still maintain a friendship," Summitt said. "We've both been on both sides of the game as far as wins and losses, but that hasn't affected how we've responded to each other. I have tremendous respect for her. She's one of my dearest friends in the profession."
While their friendship has lasted through their numerous clashes on the court, it has barely survived their shopping forays together.
"I don't particularly care to shop with her," Summitt said with a smile. "I like to run in a store, look around and go, 'I want this, this and this.' Vivian takes her time. If we're trying on shoes, she would try on 12 pair. I'd try on two. She has incredible patience. I have none. . . . We're total opposites."
Their relationship has transcended coaching and shopping, though. There have been tough times. Stringer's husband, Bill, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1992, leaving her with three children to raise. Her daughter, Janine, has been in a wheelchair since she was 14 months old, when a bout with spinal meningitis left her with brain damage. In 2000, her son was in a near-fatal auto accident, from which he has recovered.
"Vivian's had a lot of challenges throughout her life and her career, but she's persevered," Summitt said. "She's tough."
