CLEVELAND - Pat Summitt went to bed at 4:45 Wednesday morning without critiquing the videotape of the game her team had just played.

She's clearly slacking off.

Let's cut her a break. She knew she had an early press conference. And she anticipated a wake-up call from the President of the United States.

"I asked do we get to go the White House?'' Summitt reported. "He said, 'Absolutely.' ''

Trips to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to be hailed by the chief are part of the national-championship package, a package Tennessee reopened Tuesday night with a 59-46 win over Rutgers.

The upcoming visit will be the seventh in the program's history, which is pretty much Summitt's history as well.

She took over the program when it barely was a program. Summitt was 22 years old, fresh out of UT-Martin, when she won her first game on Jan. 10, 1975.

From there well, you know the rest of the story.

Her first national title came in 1987 and she had five more by 1998.

Nine years later, an interim largely dominated by Connecticut, Summitt and the Lady Vols are back on top.

Her seven championships trail only the 10 men's titles of UCLA under John Wooden in the college basketball record book.

The comparison to Wooden becomes more inevitable every time the Lady Vols hang a new banner. But there's another way to look at what Summitt has done.

Her seventh title comes on the 20th anniversary of her first. No coach in college basketball has won championships over so long a span and I'm sure the list of coaches who have done so in any sport at any level is a short one.

Wooden's 10 came in 12 years, Adolph Rupp's four in 11 years, Bobby Knight's three in 12 years, etc.

Geno Auriemma's five women's titles at UConn cover a 10-year span (1995-2004). Let's see if he wins another in 2015 or beyond.

In football, Paul "Bear" Bryant comes closest to Summitt's longevity at the top of her game. His first and last national championships were 18 years apart.

What does it mean to be so excellent for so long?

"I hadn't really thought about the numbers,'' she said. "Some day when I'm on the back porch in a rocking chair, I might.

"But we have been a constant in the game, always taking on the toughest schedule, being in the tournament every year, making it to a regional every year. I'm really proud of that.''

No one views the Lady Vols and Summitt as being anything other than a constant in the foreseeable future.

Four starters return, Wade Trophy winner Candace Parker among them. Four touted freshmen report in the fall.

Kelley Cain and Vicki Baugh will enhance the inside game. Guards Angie Bjorkland and Sydney Smallbone offer outside shooting. All but Smallbone were here this week for the WBCA All-Star Challenge.

"If we're going to have a chance to repeat we're going to need some contributions from this group,'' said Summitt.

And while repeating is a daunting task, it's not unthinkable. Florida's men just reminded us that the proper mix of talent and dedication can beat the odds.

Summitt knows repeats, knows three-peats in fact - 1996-97-98.

"A lot of times,'' she said, "teams that win are not necessarily as motivated to do it again.

"This team was very motivated last off-season. They have to decide how important it is. Is it as important as it was last summer? That remains to be seen.''

About its importance to Summitt there is no doubt.

The old hoops coach has endured some recent hard times away from the court. Over the past year, Summitt's marriage fell apart, at a time she was still mourning the 2005 deaths of her father and good friend Sue Gunter, the former LSU coach.

Through it all, she delivered another lesson in excellence.

She remains a constant, not only in her game, but at the top of her game.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.