Tamika Catchings arrived at UT in 1997 as the Naismith national schoolgirl player of the year. The daughter of 11-season pro-basketball player Harvey Catchings, she was born with a severe hearing loss in both ears and had to wear boxy hearing aids as a child.
Among her awards as a Lady Vol are: Naismith Freshman of the Year; Kodak All-American team (all four years); Naismith College Player of the Year (2000); an ESPY Award in 2000; member of the Lady Vols’ NCAA Women’s Basketball National championship team in 1998; League for the Hard of Hearing, Athlete of the Year, 1998; and the Reynolds Society Achievement Award by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston in 2000.
After graduating in December 2000 with a BS in sport management, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever in the 2001 draft. She was the only rookie named to the United States National Team, and she and her teammates won the bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in Brazil. She was a member of the 2004, 2008, and 2012 US Olympic teams.
In 2011 she announced a partnership of her Catch the Stars foundation with the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences and the Knox County Schools, and she was the commencement speaker for the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences.