Four Lady Vols programs to wear 'Summitt Blue' alternate jerseys in 2022-23 season

Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel
·2 min read
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The historic blue accent color of the Tennessee Lady Vols now has a name: "Summitt Blue" in honor of Lady Vols basketball legendary coach Pat Summitt.

The change was made by UT in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and four teams will have "Summitt Blue" alternates for the 2022-23 season. Tennessee soccer and volleyball will debut the bright blue jerseys first this fall and women's basketball and softball will follow in the winter and spring.

While soccer and volleyball will have blue jersey tops, basketball's "Summitt Blue" edition will be full uniforms. The collection is being called the "Summitt Legacy" series.

"We're excited to be a part of that," UT women's basketball coach Kellie Harper told Knox News. "We're looking forward to what that's going to look like. I'm not going to say too much about it, but we're excited."

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The blue accent color made its first appearance in 1968, when Tennessee women's athletics director emeritus Joan Cronan was looking for women's basketball jerseys. No companies offered Tennessee orange uniforms, so Cronan chose Columbia blue uniforms with orange letters – and the blue has stuck ever since.

"Tennessee's history as a worldwide leader in women's athletics, along with the Lady Vols' unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate," Tennessee athletics director Danny White said in a release. "As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni."

Cora Hall: Covering UT women's athletics
Twitter | cora.hall@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee Lady Vols to wear 'Summitt Blue' jerseys for 2022-23 season