Packer: Cronan's goal to help young women excel

Photo by J. Miles Cary

Tennessee women’s athletic director Joan Cronan smiles for a photograph in 1991 at Thompson- Boling Arena.

Joan Cronan is living a dream. It's a dream that she first dreamt when she was 12 years old in southwest Louisiana.

"Our house connected to the city park," Cronan said. "So, we had played baseball for years any chance we had. Well, when I was 12 I wanted to try out for the Little League baseball league. I knew I was better than any of the boys, but they wouldn't let me because I was a girl. At that point, I knew that I wanted to do something in my life that could help girls reach their highest potential."

Now, years later, Cronan has done that and then some. She leads a program that is considered by many around the country to be the model for what a women's program is supposed to be.

"I remember somebody said to me, 'If you find a job that you like and love, you'll never work a day in your life.' And, that phrase fits perfectly for me because I still love everything about my job"

It's hard to believe, but this year is Cronan's 25th anniversary as the women's athletic director at the University of Tennessee.

"It is very hard to believe that 25 years ago Tom (her husband) gave me the green light to accept this job. Tom was a great professor at the Citadel when the call came from Tennessee. He was so supportive that we picked up and moved to Knoxville."

Tom Cronan passed away in August of last year at the hands of pancreatic cancer. He was the rock behind Joan that gave her the strength to be the best she could be every day. Just mention the name "Tom" to Joan, and her emotions rush out for everyone to see, including me in this interview.

"Tom was my role model. He was such a big part of all I've accomplished in my life and he would be so proud of what we've been able to accomplish since his passing," Joan Cronan said. "You hear people talk all the time about coaches' wives and what they have to put up with for their husbands to do what they do. Tom was that for me. I remember a time when I was at the airport more than I was at home, but he never complained one time about it. He knew that I was living my dream and he was proud of me."

Lots of people are proud of what Joan Cronan and the University of Tennessee have been able to accomplish in women's athletics. With Arkansas combining the men's and women's athletics into one department this past week, it leaves only Tennessee and Texas as programs operating independent of each other.

"I'll tell you what I tell the recruits. My favorite sport is the sport of recruiting young women to come to the University of Tennessee. And, when we get them here making them the best citizens they can be over the course of their lives that's my favorite sport. Sure I love winning championships, and we win a lot of them, but that's where my passion lies.

"I remember when Candace Parker was on her recruiting trip and I asked her why she wanted to come to Tennessee. I expected her to say something about Pat Summitt, the facilities or the championships. But, she said to me, "Mrs. Cronan, where else could I go where they are scalping tickets to a women's game on the street corner?' I'll never forget that statement and it really said it all about what this university has been able to accomplish."

I asked what was her favorite moment to Tennessee, to which I was given the answer, "I'm not going there."

Cronan said she knew that the sky was the limit in Knoxville for women's athletics:

"I'll take you back to 1990. We were hosting the Final Four that year and we all just knew that we were going to be playing in it on our home court. Unfortunately we lost to Virginia in the regional final in triple overtime and didn't make it. The next week we had over 22,000 fans at the Final Four to support the women's game even without us playing. I knew right then that anything was possible and that Tennessee is where I wanted to be for the rest of my career."

With all the talk from fans about their concerns over the football program and head coach Phillip Fulmer. I took Cronan back a few years to when I heard a caller say that the game had passed Pat Summitt by and that she needed to retire. Now, after her most recent and seventh national title, that call seems a bit humorous.

"That kind of talk leads me to my favorite Bible verse, Luke 12:48. It says, 'From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.' We have the greatest fans in the world at Tennessee. And, they have every right to expect greatness on and off the court. I think, if you look back over the years, we've given them a lot to be proud of."

No matter how much you try to talk about wins and losses, Cronan always gets back to what she, the coaches, and the administration have been able to accomplish with lives off the court.

"Last week I was standing at the post office and the postal worker behind the counter told me that the guy behind me in line was a tombstone maker," Cronan said. "He asked me what I want it to say on my tombstone when my time comes.

"Well, first of all, I hope that's many years from now. But, I responded that I want it to say, 'She made a difference in young women's lives and was fair in the decisions she made to affect them.' "

Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room, presented by Parkwest Medical Center, on Sunday at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2.