Cronan Receives WBCA’s Betty F. Jaynes Lifetime Achievement Award

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced on Tuesday that Joan Cronan, who has been a dedicated employee of the University of Tennessee since 1983, has won the 2025 Betty F. Jaynes Lifetime Achievement Award. Cronan has built enduring relationships and created opportunities for success for UT student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. The WBCA’s first and longest-serving executive director, the late Betty F. Jaynes, is honored with the award’s name.

A seasoned leader whose success is gauged by her achievements on the personal and professional fronts, Cronan fostered a culture of teamwork by being dependable and devoted in whatever she does. “Joan’s vision, passion, and tireless efforts to grow women’s athletics and to promote women’s opportunities have made a huge difference across the nation for women in sports,” the late great Pat Summitt remarked of Cronan. Joan was instrumental in enhancing Tennessee Lady Vols athletics’ reputation and brands by strategy, performance, and invaluable connections.

Cronan, an honorary doctorate recipient from the United States Sports Academy and a graduate of LSU, started her career at Opelousas High School in 1965 as a math teacher and assistant basketball coach. Her first position was as a lecturer and basketball coach at the University of Tennessee in 1968. Cronan returned to Knoxville permanently after a ten-year tenure as athletic director at the College of Charleston, where she has held positions as athletic director, women’s athletic director, vice chancellor, consultant, and counselor to the chancellor. She is currently the athletic director emeritus.

WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew stated, “The Tennessee Lady Vols dynasty, a masterpiece by Joan Cronan, is an iconic brand and symbol of women’s basketball excellence.” All programs were held to the level set by Joan and Pat Summitt. Joan has had an incalculable influence on her coaches, support personnel, and student-athletes. Significant investments in buildings, budgets, personnel, and fundraising were made possible by her connections and vision. She is a national leader, a treasure from Tennessee, and a mentor to many, including me.

Among Cronan’s many leadership positions are those of founding class and former president of Leadership Knoxville, chair of the United Way, president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, chair of the NCAA and SEC Executive Board, chair of the SEC Executive Committee, board of trustees of Carson-Newman College, and chair of the Pat Summitt Foundation. Her amazing list of achievements includes being the first woman to win the YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award, the NCAA Pat Summitt Award, and, most recently, the Michael L. Slive Distinguished Service Award on an individual basis.

For her numerous achievements, Cronan has been inducted into eleven different Halls of Fame, including the University of Tennessee Educators Hall of Honor, the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame, the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee and Louisiana Sports Halls of Fame.

Receiving recognition from your peers for pursuing a goal you have when you were twelve years old—to improve women’s sports—is always an honor, Cronan added. Since “the beginning of time,” I have had the honor of working alongside Betty Jaynes, Beth Bass, and Danielle Donehew as part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. I’ve always valued my association with the WBCA, and I’m honored to be given an award that pays tribute to Betty’s legacy.

The WBCA grew from 212 members in its first year of existence to over 3,000 at the time of Jaynes’ retirement in November 2001, solidifying its position as the premier resource, voice, and champion for women’s basketball coaches. Until her passing in 2014, Jaynes continued to be involved with the WBCA as a consultant, working on advisory assignments pertaining to advocacy, educational programming, finances, and special projects. She worked with the association for 35 years in total.