Think Pink 2012
Luncheon

The quest of the University of Tennessee's 11 varsity female sports teams to always find ways to improve can be attributed to the program's leader, Athletics Director Joan Cronan, who is one of the most highly-motivated people in her profession. Cronan joined UT 15 years ago from the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she served as the Athletics Director for 10 years.

As a former coach. Cronan served a two-year stint at Tennessee from 1968 to 1970. In 1969, she led the women's basketball team to an alternate berth in the first-ever National Invitational Collegiate Basketball Tournament.

In 1998, Cronan's work earned her accord from the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, as she was named its Administrator of the Year. She also won the 1995 regional award for the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic Administrators. On the national scene, Cronan is currently active on the NCAA Management Council and the editorial board of College Athletic Management magazine.

A graduate of LSU, Cronan earned her B.S. in 1966 and her M.S. in 1968, both in physical education.

Joan lives in Holtson Hills with her husband Tom, an associate professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Carson-Newman College. They have two daughters, Kristi and Stacey (Mrs. Kent Bristow), both 1994 graduates of UT.