BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In conjunction with the Southeastern Conference’s 50th anniversary of Title IX celebration, a distinguished group of individuals from all 14 SEC member institutions will be honored during the 2022 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, March 2-6, in Nashville, Tenn.
Known as SEC Trailblazers, this group has contributed to the advancement of women and the growth of women’s athletics at their universities and within the Southeastern Conference.
The University of Tennessee’s SEC Trailblazers are late Lady Vol basketball head coach Pat Summitt and long-time women’s athletics director Joan Cronan.
Summitt, who served as head coach at Tennessee for 38 seasons from 1974 to 2012, produced a 1,098-208 record (.840). Her career victory total was the most of any coach in the history of NCAA men’s or women’s basketball at the time of her retirement.
She guided her teams to eight NCAA National Championships (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008), and Tennessee made an unprecedented 31-consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to a record 18 NCAA Final Fours and finishing as runner-up in five other title game berths.
Summitt’s squads won a combined 32 SEC regular season and tournament championships (16 regular season/16 tournament). Tennessee’s record during 33 years of play in the SEC under her watch was 317-44 (.878) in the regular season and 69-17 (.802) during the postseason tournament.
A transformational leader and role model for what women in sports can accomplish, Summitt’s standard of excellence was instrumental in propelling the Lady Vol reputation and logo into a respected and internationally-recognized brand. She helped develop and grow fan attendance and financial support for basketball and other women’s sports at Tennessee through her willingness to speak to groups, engage with fans and donors, and participate in philanthropic events
Additionally, she advocated and cooperated freely with all forms of media to not only enhance her team’s coverage but grow the game of women’s basketball. The access to her program she provided to the media and TV personnel helped expand nationwide exposure for women’s college basketball and put Tennessee as well as women’s hoops on the map.
Cronan, who worked alongside Summitt from 1983 to 2012, headed one of the nation’s last-remaining athletics departments dedicated solely to women’s sports at Tennessee. She created and maintained an atmosphere and expectation of excellence across the board that resulted in consistently high performance.
Under her watch, she oversaw the expansion of the UT women’s athletics program from seven to 11 sports. During her time at the helm, those programs claimed 10 NCAA titles, 41 top-five NCAA finishes, 78 top-10 NCAA finishes, 22 SEC regular-season titles and 33 SEC Tournament championships.
She instituted an endowment scholarship program at the University of Tennessee which at present represents approximately $5 million. She also provided leadership and participated in fundraising to increase annual giving from $75,000 to $2 million per year. As a result, she was able to grow the UT Women’s Athletics operation from $1.2 million to $5.2 million in 13 years.
Cronan also garnered additional resources for operating budgets and coaches’ salaries. Those efforts fueled incremental growth for all women’s sports programs and enabled Pat Summitt to become the first million-dollar coach in women’s basketball.
Additionally, Cronan developed a culture of accountability and leadership that produced high achievement in competition and in the classroom as well as a commitment and responsibility of outreach to the community. She also worked in partnership with UT women’s coaches to provide opportunities for competition, leadership and growth for female student-athletes, preparing them to go into the world and become leaders themselves.
Each trailblazer will be honored on court during half-time of their team’s first game of the tournament, as well as with the full group of honorees on semifinal Saturday.
The SEC will have a year-long celebration of the anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation enacted half a century ago that has had a dramatic and lasting impact on opportunities for women in collegiate athletics.
Under the banner of “50th Anniversary of Title IX: Creating Opportunities,” the SEC’s celebration will include recognitions at Conference championship events, commemoration of achievements through online and social media channels, commemorative memorabilia and a collaboration with the SEC Network highlighting the advancement of women’s sports.
Below is the list of the SEC Trailblazers:
Sarah Patterson, Alabama
Marie Robbins, Alabama
Bev Lewis, Arkansas
Linda Bedford-Jackson, Arkansas
Dr. Jane Moore, Auburn (deceased)
Meredith Jenkins, Auburn (deceased)
Susan Nunnelly, Auburn
Jeremy Foley, Florida
Ann Marie Rogers, Florida
Liz Murphy, Georgia (deceased)
Carla Williams, Georgia
Bernadette Locke-Mattox, Kentucky
Mitch Barnhart, Kentucky
D-D Breaux, LSU
Joyce Walker, LSU
Samye Johnson, Mississippi State
Ann Carr, Mississippi State
Jean Cerra, Missouri
Joann Rutherford, Missouri
Peggie Gillom-Granderson, Ole Miss
Lynnette Johnson , Ole Miss
Dawn Ellerbe, South Carolina
Sheila Foster, South Carolina
Pat Summitt, Tennessee (deceased)
Joan Cronan, Tennessee
Vicki Brown Sobecki, Texas A&M
Brenda Goldsmith Hocott, Texas A&M
Sharon Shields, Vanderbilt
Teresa Lawrence Phillips, Vanderbilt
-UT Athletics
