SEC, members donating $100K to Summitt fund

The Southeastern Conference and its member schools are donating $100,000 to the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund to help fight Alzheimer's disease.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference and its member schools are donating $100,000 to the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund to help fight Alzheimer's disease.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Thursday that the former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach "is an integral part of the Southeastern Conference's history and we will be forever grateful for her many contributions to this league and to college basketball."

The Hall of Fame coach stepped down in April, eight months after revealing she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

President Barack Obama presented Summitt the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on Tuesday.

The league's women's basketball coaches also unanimously opted to continue "We Back Pat Week" each January to raise awareness and recognition to the fund and Alzheimer's.