updated 11:41 a.m. ET March 23, 2005

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Pat Summitt stood at midcourt surrounded by her husband, son and 79-year-old mother, waved to cheering fans and smiled when Tennessee unveiled the new name for its court.

The hardwood at Thompson-Boling Arena will be called “The Summitt” in a fitting tribute to the coach who stands alone at the top of NCAA basketball.

Summitt broke Dean Smith’s career victory record Tuesday night, getting No. 880 in the Lady Vols’ 75-54 win over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Summitt tied Smith with an easy win over Western Carolina in the first round Sunday night and passed the former North Carolina men’s coach with another convincing victory. The 52-year-old Summitt improved to 880-171 in 31 years at Tennessee, while Smith was 879-254 when he retired in 1997 after 36 years with the Tar Heels.

“Obviously, to be in the company with Coach Smith, to think about all the people that were a part of these wins, I never thought I’d live this long,” Summitt said.

After the game, NCAA officials presented Summitt with the game ball and a plaque. She hugged husband R.B., son Tyler, and mother Hazel Head, who surprised her daughter by being at the game.

The team posed for a picture with the players holding up newspaper pages with a huge 880 in orange on the front.

Summitt also was surprised at the renaming of the court in her honor.

“It really touches me,” she said. “I never even thought about anything like that ever. I don’t think there could have been a better gift in terms of the feeling that I had and how much I love this university.”

Top-seeded Tennessee (28-4), seeking its seventh national title under Summitt, advanced to face fourth-seeded Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Philadelphia Regional on Sunday.

The players said Summitt kept everyone’s minds on advancing in the tournament, not the record.

“She did a very good job of keeping our focus and she continually was harping on us that this was a game in the tournament and we’ve got to get to the Sweet 16, and if we do that we’ll get the record,” Shanna Zolman said.

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