Peyton Manning: Pat Summitt changed my life

“Celebrating Pat Summitt: Live Reunion Special,” sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, will premiere Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and will be available to stream on the ESPN App.

“Breaking Glass: The Pat Summitt Story,” from director Dawn Porter, premieres on ESPN2 on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

In early 1997, I faced one of the hardest decisions of my life to that point. I pride myself on being decisive and prepared for anything — but I was truly torn between realizing my NFL dreams and staying in Knoxville for one more year.

After my junior season at Tennessee, I went home to New Orleans for winter break. At that point, I was leaning toward entering the NFL draft. Then I went back to campus, back to my friends, back to college life. I wasn’t sure I was ready for this chapter to end.

I was torn, so I turned to someone I’d come to trust and admire: Pat Summitt.

It was the middle of a challenging regular season for the Lady Vols. Coming off a national title, they lost five of eight games at one point. By mid-January, they’d fallen out of the top 10 for the first time in more than a decade. Needless to say, Pat Summitt had a lot on her plate.

I don’t know what I expected when I went to her office for advice that day. She could’ve given me the hard sell on staying at Tennessee, a school that she called home since taking over the program in 1974 at age 22. Maybe she’d offer a quick pep talk and send me on my way.

But that wasn’t Pat. I sat in her office for two hours, soaking in her words of wisdom. She had a gift for making you feel immediately at ease.

She also had an incredible ability to stare down doubt. That stare could quiet a room. It could tell you something about yourself.

That meeting helped me understand that I wanted to return to Knoxville for one more season. It also solidified a lifelong, cherished friendship.

And of course, Pat somehow turned that season around and the Lady Vols won a second straight national title.

I have so many irreplaceable memories from that final year at Tennessee. Among them, I got to be on campus when the “Three Meeks” — Tamika Catchings, Semeka Randall and Chamique Holdsclaw — completed the unprecedented three-peat with an incredible 39-0 season in 1997-98.

My teammates and I loved going to their games. Every one of us would have been proud to call Pat Summitt our coach. I have zero doubt that she would have succeeded in any sport.

Pat bravely went public with her diagnosis in 2011 and soon after launched The Pat Summitt Foundation. Amid her own courageous battle, she worked to help reduce the stigma around Alzheimer’s disease.

A decade after her death, we continue to fight on her behalf. I’m so proud to serve as an honorary co-chair of her foundation. To date, the foundation has awarded over $6 million to nonprofit organizations committed to research, patient care and awareness. At the same time, leaders across the health care community are helping advance the conversation around brain health, early detection, proactive care and ongoing dialogue with medical professionals.

There’s a cruel irony in the fact that someone who created such unforgettable memories for others was stripped of her own memory. But that’s also why it is so important to honor her memory and celebrate her legacy.

She took home eight national titles, appeared in 18 Final Fours and won 1,098 games. She transformed women’s basketball and ushered in a new era in women’s sports. But for those of us who knew Pat Summitt, it was the impact she had on others that defined this remarkable person.

I’m so proud to present “Celebrating Pat Summitt: Live Reunion Special.” Hearing the stories from that night brought back a lot of great memories. I hope it offers a glimpse into what made her such a rare person.

In my office, I keep a small collection of memorabilia. In that room, I have two basketballs Pat Summitt signed for my children. It’s my constant reminder of someone I was lucky to call a friend.