Knoxville Bearden High School track star Holly Warlick came to UT in 1976 on a partial track scholarship with the understanding that she could try out for the basketball team after she enrolled. She walked on, made the team, and was the first Tennessee basketball player (male or female) to have her jersey retired in 1980. In her first year at UT, the team played in the national AIAW tournament, losing to Delta State in the semifinals. She ran the 400 relay at the AIAW Nationals the same year, but then concentrated solely on basketball.
From 1976 to 1980, she held UT records for most assists in a game (14), most steals in a game (9), most assists in a season (225), and most games in a career (142). She was a member of three Final Four teams; was named to the US Junior National Team in 1977 and to the US National Team, 1978–80; SEC all-tournament team, 1980; and US Olympic Team, 1980 (boycott). She participated in the Jones Cup, Pan American Games, and the World Championship Competition.
She earned the BA in business administration from UT in 1981 and the master’s in athletics administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1983. She led the Nebraska Wranglers to the championship of the Women’s Professional Basketball League in 1981. She served as assistant basketball coach at VPI and the University of Nebraska before returning to UT in 1985, where she served as assistant basketball coach from 1985 to 2003 and then became associate head coach. When Pat Summitt announced she would become head basketball coach emeritus following the 2011–12 season due to the progression of her Alzheimer’s disease, Warlick was named head coach.
She has been named to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.