University of Tennessee Athletics
Building The Future By Honoring The Past
October 24, 2014 | Volleyball
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The newest athletic facility at the University of Tennessee gives a permanent home to one of its most successful athletic programs while also honoring one of its greatest administrators.
The Joan Cronan Volleyball Center was formally dedicated on Friday afternoon, giving the volleyball team a true home for the first time in the program's history. Named for Tennessee's longtime Women's Athletic Director who retired in July, the center houses three practice courts, locker and training room space, offices, meeting rooms and a theater-style film room.
Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart began the ceremony by saying the facility would stand as a testament to the legacy that Cronan helped build at Tennessee.
"It's hard to quantify what she's meant to the University of Tennessee during her long and successful tenure," Hart said. "It seemed only fitting that we would recognize Joan in perpetuity with her name on this facility."
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, who named Cronan as the first Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics during the merge of athletic departments in 2011, was excited to honor her with the facility when Hart brought the idea to his attention.
"Under her leadership, the Lady Vols became one of the most visible and well-respected programs in the country," Cheek said. "Joan's record speaks for itself. 10 national championships, 46 top-5 NCAA finishes and 29 SEC regular season championships. She has always led with humility and grace, but demanded excellence from those around her. She built a powerhouse program, not just based on wins on the field or the court, but also on education and graduation rates among the student-athletes."
Cronan was most excited about what the facility means in terms of UT's continued pursuit of comprehensive excellence.
"This day is about Tennessee and its commitment to women's athletics," she said. "Tennessee said 'yes' to women's athletics before it was cool for people to say 'yes.'"
Cronan hired Rob Patrick following the 1996 season to lead a team with some tradition, but no recent success. All that changed in the years that followed.
"When I started here 18 years ago, I came with a dream to build a program that would let all of my volleyball coaching colleagues know that Tennessee volleyball mattered, not only in the SEC, but nationally," Patrick said. "With that dream, a lot of hard work and perseverance and the ability to get just a little better every day, we were able to win SEC championships and compete for national championships."
When he was hired, the program had no permanent home. They played and typically practiced in Alumni Gym, which was already slated for redevelopment into the performing arts center and classroom space that it currently houses.
From there, the team moved to Stokely Athletics Center, which it shared with the track programs and a basketball practice court. The beginning of the indoor track season meant the end of their place to practice.
The team moved home matches to Thompson-Boling Arena in 2008, where they will continue to play now. Practice space became scarce after UT moved out of Stokely in preparation for its demolition two years ago. A combination of Pratt Pavilion, Thompson-Boling and off-campus sites served as hosts for practice, but Tennessee volleyball was never truly home.
"Mr. Hart has a vision of a student-athlete driven athletic department and the Cronan Center is a testament to his commitment to that belief," Patrick said. "This building will be a game-changer for our volleyball program."
Knoxville native Megan Hatcher, who grew up attending a variety of Lady Vol sporting events, represented her team at the podium.
"It is a real honor to train in a center named after Joan Cronan, who has truly shaped what being a Lady Vol means," said Hatcher. "This center is not only a representation of what the program will be in the future, but also the past Lady Vols who have committed and worked to show what this program is really about."
For Cronan, the honor was not about herself, but about the people that lifted the program under her leadership.
"You win with people," Cronan said. "It is the people that make a difference. I had great coaches, great administrators, great players and lots of fans. It was so much fun to be a part of a program that was family.
"I'm excited for Rob Patrick and this volleyball program, it is so nice to have a home. The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. This is your home, this is your workplace, and we are expecting and will have so much success from his team."
And being home was the ultimate theme. A place, finally, to call their own.
"There is something special about a person's home," Patrick said. "What makes a house a home? The people. The Joan Cronan Volleyball Center is a beautiful building, but what you have made it is an incredible home. Welcome home, everyone."
