Wins, losses and a halftime speech not given: What Gary Blair remembers about facing Lady Vols, Pat Summitt

After 37 years coaching, Texas A&M coach Gary Blair has a lifetime of wins to look back on – 848 to be exact.

But one of the wins he'll always remember was in Knoxville on Feb. 12, 2017. Texas A&M defeated the Lady Vols in Thompson-Boling Arena, 61-59, marking Blair's first victory over Tennessee in Knoxville, a place he is quite familiar with, having coached the Aggies since 2003 and Arkansas from 1993-2003. 

Blair will have one more shot to get a win in Thompson-Boling Arena when the Aggies (10-3, 0-1 SEC) and Lady Vols (13-1, 2-0) face off Thursday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).

Blair announced in October that this season will be his last at the helm of the Texas A&M program. He will retire as the winningest basketball coach in school history, surpassing Shelby Metcalf's record of 438 victories with the win over Texas Southern on Dec. 9.

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In Blair's 19-year tenure at Texas A&M, he has built the program to national prominence, winning a national title in 2011 and five conference titles, the most recent the SEC regular-season championship last season. He also has a 16-season NCAA Tournament streak.

But Blair's coaching story and history against the Lady Vols goes further back than Arkansas. Blair served as an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech from 1980-85, just as Pat Summitt began to build her dynasty in Knoxville.

"Tennessee is still the standard bearer for women's basketball. Everybody else followed since," Blair said. "Everybody has copied what they have done, and we're all blueprints. I used to tell Pat, between Geno, Pat and I, we've won 20 National Championships. ‘Course Geno won 11 and Pat won eight and I won one — so between the three of us..."

Summitt never beat Louisiana Tech when Blair was on the coaching staff, back when Blair said Summitt was learning from Tech what it took to win national championships. Summitt returned that favor to Blair in 2008, when the Lady Vols beat Texas A&M in the Elite Eight and went on to win its most recent NCAA title.

"That game taught us what it was going to take in the next four years, ‘09, ‘10 and ‘11 – when we won it – I think we learned more from that as coaches, what it was going to take to be able to be a national champion like Tennessee," Blair said. "You learn and you steal from others, I didn't invent the game. Neither did Pat or John Wooden. But we've all found our mark on how we can improve teams."

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Like many coaches who faced Summitt, Blair remembers more losses than wins. More specifically, Blair remembers the halftime speech he didn't give to his Arkansas team. The Razorbacks had the lead in Thompson-Boling Arena, but ended up losing 79-69 on Jan. 10, 2000.

"We were up 13 at halftime and all of a sudden, we couldn't hold on," Blair said. "We couldn’t hold on and here comes Pat, giving a better halftime speech to me, and then the team was just rocking and rolling. I remember that loss. I can remember more losses than wins, but I’m going to cherish the wins that I have."

The most impactful moment of Blair's career also took place in Knoxville. In 2011, Blair was inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, and of course Summitt attended.

"Seeing Pat Summitt there, I still remember taking a picture with her at the induction," Blair said. "It’s one of those special pictures you’ll always remember."

Blair plans to take his team to the WBHOF on Thursday morning before shoot-around, ensuring his players appreciate the rich history of women's basketball on their road trip to Knoxville.