UC alum Mark Griffin named Summitt award winner

By KEVIN WEAKS
Sports Editor
As a teenager at Union City High School, Mark Griffin sought out advice from people with knowledge and experience every chance he could.
Now an adult in Knoxville, he is willing to share his own advice and experiences whenever he can.
That willingness to pay it forward earned Griffin the 2026 Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award.
He was honored at the 2026 Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony last week.
Griffin devotes much of his spare time working behind the scenes to mentor young athletes on being prepared for the real world, advising on job interview skills among other things.
“I just want to be there as a voice of experience to help them,” Griffin told The Messenger last week. “Someone helped me when I was growing up, and I always wanted to help pay that forward to the future generations.”
Griffin was an all-state basketball player as well as a standout pitcher on the baseball team during his time at Union City, graduating in 1985 after helping the Golden Tornadoes reach the basketball substate round and finish as baseball state runner-up during his days on campus.
He had numerous mentors at that age, notably basketball head coach Harry Ferguson.
“He kind of helped set the state as far as seeking out advice from others, learning from others and having that competitive edge,” Griffin said. “He’d always talk about learning from your experiences and looking for that opportunity.
“I mainly talk about how we all deserve an opportunity and to take advantage of that and lean on people for help when you need it.”
Receiving an award with Summitt’s name on it means more to Griffin, who got to know the late, legendary Lady Vols’ basketball head coach when he was a member of the men’s team in the late 1980s.
“It’s really special for me because I knew Pat very well,” he said. “Two of her national championships, in 1987 and 1989, came when I was a student athlete there.
“Back in those days, we would travel together and they would play games before ours — doubleheaders back in the day, before women’s basketball really blew up. So, we would be on these road trips together, and I would hit Pat up for advice on numerous topics.”
For her part, Summitt was full of good advice, great knowledge and amazing experiences, and she was happy to share with anyone who asked.
“I use the phrase from those TV commercials in the 1970s and ’80s — when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen,” Griffin said. “Well, that was Pat Summitt. When she talked, people listened.”
Proceeds from the sports hall of fame ceremony benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley.