After a three-year hiatus initiated due to the pandemic, the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame is set to resume induction in 2023, with a 12-member class set to be honored the weekend of April 14-15.
The class features four Vol greats, six Lady Vol legends, one former head coach and a transformational administrator: baseball player Chris Burke, soccer player Ali Christoph, administrator Joan Cronan, football player Ted Daffer (posthumous), track athlete Tianna Madison, rower Chelsea Pemberton, football player Carl Pickens, golfer Violeta Retamoza, track & field head coach Chuck Rohe, track athlete DeeDee Trotter, tennis player Caitlin Whoriskey and tennis player Chris Woodruff.
The 10 former student-athletes in the Class of 2023 combined to account for eight national championships, 10 SEC titles, six Olympic medals, one world record and an Academic All-American.
“We haven’t welcomed a new class of hall of famers since 2019,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “For that reason, we’ve selected a larger class to celebrate this spring. These individuals each earned a special place in the history of Tennessee Athletics and left remarkable legacies that continue to inspire those who have followed them.”
Induction weekend coincides with Tennessee football’s spring Orange & White Game on Saturday, April 15.
Chris Burke | Baseball | 1999-2001
Chris Burke is one of the top hitters in program history and a three-time All-American, earning first-team honors his final two seasons with the Volunteers. Many of Burke’s records still stand, as the 2001 SEC Player of the Year remains Tennessee’s career-record-holder in runs scored (224), hits (314), singles (199), doubles (72), triples (17), total bases (498) and extra-base hits (115). Burke also led the 2001 Vols to their third College World Series appearance while leading the NCAA in hits (118), runs scored (105) and runs per game (1.57). Burke’s induction into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 comes on the 10-year anniversary of his induction into the University of Tennessee Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ali Christoph | Soccer | 2003-06
One of the most decorated soccer players in Tennessee history, Ali Christoph was a two-time NSCAA All-American, earning first-team honors as a junior in 2005. A three-time first-team All-SEC performer, she was a mainstay on the field for Tennessee through four seasons, leading UT to three regular-season SEC titles (2003, 2004, 2005) and two SEC Tournament championships (2003, 2005). During her time on Rocky Top, the Lady Vols made three appearances in the NCAA Round of 16, and she played in a program-best 93 matches for the Big Orange to set the school record for minutes played at 8,513. Christoph also holds the program career record of five made penalty kicks and ranks second in career assists with 27. She was just as accomplished in the classroom, being named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2006. She completed her degree in Psychology in 2008.
Joan Cronan | Administrator | 1983-2012
Under the vision and direction of Joan Cronan, the Tennessee women’s athletics department and the Lady Vols garnered a reputation as one of the most visible and respected brands throughout the nation. Tennessee’s success in both the athletic and academic realms spoke volumes about Cronan’s decision-making and leadership ability. A history-maker and member of several halls of fame, Cronan holds the distinction of becoming the first female director of athletics for the entire combined (men’s and women’s) department at UT when she served as Interim Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director in 2011. During her tenure overseeing women’s athletics, the Lady Vols won 10 team and 36 individual/relay NCAA championships, and they also captured 58 team and 177 individual/relay SEC titles. She hired 22 Tennessee head coaches, oversaw development and construction of multiple facilities and managed the women’s athletics program’s expansion from seven to 11 sports. Annual giving to women’s athletics increased exponentially from $75,000 to more than $2 million during her tenure. She now serves the university in an advisory role as Women’s Athletic Director Emeritus.
Ted Daffer | Football | 1949-51 (Posthumous)
Ted Daffer, who is being inducted posthumously, was a mainstay in the middle of Tennessee’s dominant national championship defenses in the early 1950s under Gen. Robert Neyland. The defensive guard was the only two-time first-team All-America selection from the 1950-51 squads. He helped the Volunteers to an 11-1 record and a national championship in one poll in 1950, a season that culminated with a 20-14 victory over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. He was named SEC Most Outstanding Lineman by the Birmingham Quarterback Club that fall. Daffer returned the following year and guided UT to a consensus 1951 national championship with an undefeated regular season as his unit pitched five shutouts. A two-time first-team All-SEC honoree, Daffer earned his degree in Business in 1951 and was selected in the 21st round of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He passed away on March 1, 2006.
Tianna Madison Bartoletta | Women’s Track & Field | 2004-05
A three-time Olympic champion for Team USA, Tianna Madison Bartoletta enjoyed a historically successful two-year career with the Tennessee women’s track & field program from 2004-05. She led the Lady Vols with 16 points at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships—winning the long jump national title and finishing third in the 60-meter dash—to help UT win the program’s first NCAA team championship and Tennessee’s first women’s NCAA team championship in a sport other than basketball. Individually, Bartoletta’s sophomore year in 2005 featured a clean sweep of long jump gold at the SEC and NCAA Championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons, and she was tabbed the 2005 SEC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. She finished her Tennessee career as a six-time All-American and currently holds school records in the indoor long jump (6.78m/22-3) and outdoor long jump (6.89m/22-7.25). Embarking on a prolific professional career after her sophomore season, Bartoletta has claimed six IAAF World Championship medals and represented the United States at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She struck Olympic gold in 2012 with a world-record performance in the 4×100-meter relay and claimed a pair of golds in 2016, winning the long jump (7.17m/23-6.25) and 4×100-meter relay in Rio. Bartoletta is currently re-enrolled and is on track to complete her degree in Social Work later this year.
Chelsea Pemberton | Rowing | 2002-05
Chelsea Pemberton established herself as one of the top rowers in Tennessee history and was a major factor in the progression of the team’s success during the last decade and a half. Pemberton led the Lady Vols to three straight NCAA Championship appearances from 2003-05. After placing 16th in 2003, the three-time CRCA Pocock All-American helped Tennessee to a pair of top-10 finishes in the varsity 8+ races, taking 10th in 2004 and eighth in 2005—the best finish in the event in program history. During her career, Pemberton also was selected as a four-time CRCA All-Region first-teamer. She earned her degree in English in 2005.
Carl Pickens | Football | 1989-91
All-American Carl Pickens dazzled fans from 1989-91 at wide receiver, return specialist and even defensive back as a redshirt freshman. Pickens was a key contributor on the Vols’ back-to-back 1989 and 1990 SEC Championship teams. A 1989 SEC All-Freshman Team selection, he sparked UT to a win at LSU with a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown, and he was tabbed defensive MVP of the 1990 Cotton Bowl with a crucial interception in the endzone against Arkansas. His 1990 season saw him receive first-team All-SEC laurels with 917 receiving yards. He earned first-team All-America honors from four organizations as a junior in 1991, catching 49 passes for 817 yards for an average of 17.9 yards per catch. His 79.73 receiving yards per game led the SEC that fall. Pickens, who was also a standout on the track & field squad, was chosen in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He would go on to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors that fall.
Violeta Retamoza | Women’s Golf | 2002-06
Violeta Retamoza is one of the most decorated golfers in Lady Vol history. Retamoza was named first-team All-SEC and led the Lady Vols in lowest stroke average for three consecutive seasons (2003, 2004, 2005). During her time at Tennessee, the Aguascalientes, Mexico, native notched three individual wins, two of which came during her freshman year and set the program’s single-season record for tournament wins. During the 2004-05 season, Retamoza set another program single-season record for rounds of par or better (15). In 2005, Retamoza collected first-team All-America honors and also earned SEC Player of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year acclaim while finishing as the program’s career leader in rounds played (128). She graduated from the Haslam College of Business in 2006 and was an Academic All-American in 2004.
Chuck Rohe | Men’s Track & Field | 1963-71
Tennessee men’s track & field coaching great Chuck Rohe stood at the helm of the program from 1963-71. Previously enshrined in five halls of fame, Rohe led the Volunteers to a dominant stretch of 21 consecutive SEC titles across cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. His Tennessee squads sported an impressive 130-18-2 (.873) dual record over nine seasons and finished in the top-five at the NCAA Championships on six occasions. In 1967, Rohe was named the United States Track & Field Coach of the Year.
Rohe also was the architect of the championship-level nexus between Tennessee’s track and football programs, helping the Vols succeed in both sports by enabling student-athletes (17 in total) to participate in each. He served as the director of football recruiting under head coach Doug Dickey and mentored a pair of football All-Americans in Richmond Flowers and Chip Kell, in addition to Dick Evey. Three football athletes who also competed on Rohe’s track & field teams earned All-America acclaim in their respective events.
DeeDee Trotter | Women’s Track & Field | 2002-04
DeeDee Trotter achieved SEC and NCAA glory during her three years with the Lady Vol track & field program, winning titles and setting program records that still hold up to this day. An eight-time All-American, she won the 2004 outdoor NCAA 400-meter dash championship after claiming SEC gold in the outdoor 400-meter in 2003. Her college-best times of 51.29 and 50.00 in the indoor and outdoor 400m, respectively, still stand as program records. The Decatur, Georgia, native won six world titles over the course of her professional career, including two Olympic gold medals in the 4×400-meter relay at Athens in 2004 and London in 2012. She secured her third Olympic medal with a bronze performance in the 400-meter dash (49.72) in London and is one of only 10 Tennessee alums to win multiple Olympic medals. Trotter earned her Tennessee degree in Sociology in 2005.
Caitlin Whoriskey | Women’s Tennis | 2007-10
Caitlin Whoriskey is one of the most distinguished Lady Vol tennis players in program history. The 2010 ITA National Singles Player of the Year is one of three Lady Vols ever to earn singles and doubles All-America acclaim in the same season, doing so in 2010, after earning her first All-American nod in 2009. Whoriskey is one of seven players in program history to earn three consecutive All-SEC honors and was an integral part of the only two ITA All-American Championships in program history, earning the doubles crown in 2007 with Zsofia Zubor then doing so again in 2009 with Natalie Pluskota. In the spring of 2010, Whoriskey and Pluskota became the only pairing in Lady Vol tennis history to reach the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championships. Whoriskey graduated in 2010 with a degree in Geography.
Chris Woodruff | Men’s Tennis | 1992-93
Chris Woodruff is one of the most legendary and decorated alums in the storied history of Tennessee’s men’s tennis program. The Knoxville native remains the only NCAA singles champion in program history, winning the title in 1993. He took home ITA National Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year honors that same year. A career that began with Woodruff’s 1992 ITA National Rookie of the Year acclaim finished with two singles All-American honors (1992 and 1993), along with a pair of singles All-SEC distinctions (1992 and 1993). Woodruff posted a two-year singles record of 81-16 (.835), including a remarkable 45-7 (.865) mark in 1993. The multiple-time ATP Tour champion and former world No. 29 singles player served as assistant coach and associate head coach at Tennessee from 2002 until his promotion to head coach in 2017. He completed his degree in Psychology in 2005.
-UT Athletics
