Sports
Pat Summitt to Be Honored on 2027 Postage Stamp, USPS Announces
The late Lady Vols coach, who won eight national titles and more than 1,000 games at Tennessee, will appear on a Forever stamp in 2027. USPS praised her for elevating women's basketball and raising expectations for how women athletes and coaches are supported.
Pat Summitt, the late University of Tennessee women's basketball coach whose teams won eight national championships and more than 1,000 games, will be honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 2027, the U.S. Postal Service announced.
The stamp features an oil-on-primed-linen portrait of Summitt created by artist Roberto Parada and designed by Ethel Kessler, a USPS art director. The agency released the design as part of a partial preview of its 2027 stamp program, noting that the list is incomplete and that additional subjects will be announced in the coming weeks and months. The designs are preliminary and may change, USPS said.
In announcing the honor, the Postal Service described Summitt as "demanding, disciplined and fiercely competitive," saying she pushed her players to excel on and off the court. Her success, the agency said, helped elevate women's basketball nationally while raising expectations for how women athletes and their coaches should be supported.
Summitt led the Lady Vols for nearly four decades, building one of the most dominant programs in college sports history. Her eight NCAA titles and 1,000-plus victories made her a defining figure in the growth of the women's game, and her influence extended well beyond Knoxville as former players and assistants carried her approach into coaching and other fields.
She is joined in the 2027 preview by a range of other subjects, including baseball great Willie Mays, Lunar New Year celebrations marking the Year of the Goat, and stamps themed around love, unicorns, flowers, Halloween and childhood cancer research. USPS said customers will be able to buy the stamps and related philatelic products through its online Postal Store, by phone, by mail and at post offices nationwide once they are issued. Details on first-day-of-issue ceremonies will be posted at stampsforever.com.
For Tennessee fans and the wider basketball community, the stamp adds a national, permanent tribute to a coach whose legacy is already woven into the sport's history. It also places her among a small group of sports figures chosen for the country's mail, a recognition that USPS framed around her role in changing expectations for women's athletics.