Newly named University of Tennessee interim vice chancellor/director of athletics Joan Cronan addresses the media Thursday at Neyland-Thompson Sports Center. According to a university news release, Cronan will serve as the senior administrator of the entire athletics department, which is a significant change from the current system. Her appointment comes in the wake of Tuesday’s resignation of men’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton.KNOXVILLE-For all she’s accomplished in her 28 years as women’s athletic director, Joan Cronan now will play a major role in crucial overall decisions about the University of Tennessee’s sports future.
Cronan was named vice chancellor and interim athletic director Thursday as the school prepares to hire a new athletic director and baseball coach in addition to consolidating its separate men’s and women’s athletic departments.
“It’s been a long time, and this is an opportunity to look to the future,” Cronan said at a news conference in the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center. “When I was offered this job, I said why and why not. The why is I love Tennessee; the why is that we’re good and I want us to continue. The challenge is the transition; the challenge is we haven’t had a great year. But the future is bright. I look forward to having the opportunity to lead this program into the future.”
Men’s athletic director Mike Hamilton resigned Tuesday and will end his tenure after this weekend’s NCAA hearing in Indianapolis.
The consolidation of the men’s and women’s programs will go into effect in July 2012. Texas was the only other Division I school in the country with separate departments after Arkansas merged its programs in 2007.