Joan Cronan, an Opelousas native and LSU alumna, is the Women’s Athletic Director Emeritus at the University of Tennessee and the 2020 winner of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Triumphant collegiate programs are able to distinguish themselves from their counterparts because of superiority on the field of competition and within the classroom.

The integrity and proactive guidance of the person at the helm is what provided the edge to the University of Tennessee women’s athletics department for 29 seasons, from 1983-84 to 2011-12.

So it came as no surprise that UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek named Joan Cronan as the Interim Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics in June of 2011 when the university sought a leader for its merging men’s and women’s athletics departments. It was a position she held until Dave Hart was hired as Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics on Sept. 5, 2011. After the merger was complete following the 2011-12 academic year, she was named Women’s Athletics Director Emeritus, Consultant and Advisor to Chancellor Cheek.

Under the vision and direction of Cronan, a heavily-requested speaker on leadership and motivation on the national and local levels, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols garnered a reputation as one of the most visible and respected programs throughout the nation.

UT’s success in both the athletic and academic realms speak volumes to her decision-making and leadership ability, as demonstrated by appointment to the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Leadership Council and selection of her peers as the president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2008-09. Cronan is also a former president of National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA).