Carrie Underwood dropped a new video for her upbeat single, “Southbound.”
Directed by Jeff Venable, the new clip features Carrie in action on her current tour interspersed with footage of her partying with friends. The drinks are flowing in the new video as the party-goers play yard games and “hit” the water.
Penned by Carrie, David Garcia and Josh Miller, “Southbound” is currently No. 30 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after six weeks.
Thousands of fans packed Nissan Stadium during Night 4 of CMA Fest on June 9 to see scheduled performances by David Lee Murphy, Chris Janson, Old Dominion, Maren Morris, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan, with a surprise appearances by Trisha Yearwood.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee Athletics Director Emeritus Joan Cronan and former graduate assistant Beth Bass were among seven women inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at the Tennessee Theatre.
Members of the Class of 2019, the 21st group of inductees, include Bass (Contributor), Cronan (Contributor), Nora Lynn Finch (Contributor), Ticha Penicheiro (International Player), Ruth Riley (Player), Carolyn Bush Roddy (Veteran Player) and Valerie Still (Player). They were awarded their coveted Eastman Trophy and Baron Championship induction rings.
Cronan was the highly-respected, long-time women’s athletics director at Tennessee before her retirement, while Bass began her career as a graduate assistant in the UT women’s athletics department.
The addition of Cronan and Bass brings the total of honorees with UT ties to 14. Previous selections include coaches Pat Summitt (1999) and Mickie DeMoss (2018), administrator Gloria Ray (2010) and players Cindy Noble Hauserman (2000), Patricia Roberts (2000), Holly Warlick (2001), Cindy Brogdon (2002), Daedra Charles-Furlow (2007), Bridgette Gordon (2007), Jill Rankin Schneider (2008), Nikki McCray (2012) and Chamique Holdsclaw (2018).
Cronan and Bass took part in a media availability on Friday afternoon before participating in an autograph session on Saturday afternoon as well as the VIP reception, induction ceremony and post-induction celebration on Saturday night. Cronan is the second UT women’s A.D. to join the hall, following Ray with that distinction.
In addition to inducting the Class of 2019, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame recognized key contributors from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) for their contributions to the game with a display at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame entitled “Trailblazers of the Game.”
Under the vision and direction of Cronan, the UT Lady Vols garnered a reputation as one of the most visible and respected athletics departments throughout the nation. UT’s success in both the athletic and academic realms spoke volumes about her decision-making and leadership ability.
Cronan grew up in Opelousas, La., graduated from LSU and arrived in Knoxville in 1968 to teach at the University of Tennessee and coach women’s basketball. After serving as women’s athletics director, coach and professor at the College of Charleston from 1973-83, she and her family returned to East Tennessee in 1983 and made Knoxville their permanent home.
She forged a highly-decorated career in collegiate athletics as an administrator and advocate for student-athletes at UT. She is respected nationally for her skills as a leader, motivator, strategic thinker, public speaker and team builder and for the integrity with which she runs an organization.
Taking over as women’s athletics director at UT in 1983, she gradually expanded the program from seven to 11 sports, and helped the department increase annual giving from $75,000 to more than $2 million per year. During her 29-year tenure (1983-2012), Tennessee women’s teams won 10 NCAA Championships, 22 SEC regular season titles and 33 league tourney trophies, finishing first or second in the SEC All-Sports Award race six times.UT teams also produced 41 top-five NCAA finishes and 78 top-10 NCAA outcomes. The success by Lady Vol teams was matched by an expectation for excellence in the classroom and a philosophy of giving back to the community.
A history-maker and member of six halls of fame, she holds the distinction of becoming the first female athletics director for the entire department at UT when she served as Interim Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director in 2011. She was named the 2005 Athletic Director of the Year & 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA). She also was the first recipient of the NCAA Pat Summitt Award in 2017 and was the 2018 recipient of NACDA’s top honor – The James Corbett Award.
In addition to her leadership at UT, Cronan is a former president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA), past president of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and served on NCAA’s Executive Committee, Championship Cabinet, Management Council, Leadership Council, as well as the NCAA Council.
During Bass’ career, she most notably served as the CEO of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) from 2001-14. She assisted in the 2007 launch of the WBCA’s “Think Pink” campaign in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. In 2004, Bass was the recipient of the President’s Award from the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).
The WBCA Board of Directors hired Bass after a highly successful tenure in the sports and fitness industry. With experience as a women’s basketball and women’s sports marketing executive at Converse Inc. and NIKE, Inc., Bass was a catalyst for corporate support of women’s basketball for more than 10 years.
At NIKE, Bass specialized in the firm’s women’s basketball sports marketing endeavors, including coaching endorsements, the WBCA Girls’ High School All-America Game, the inaugural Nike Girls All-America Camp and the Coaches’ Extravaganza at the WBCA National Convention. Prior to NIKE, Bass served as National Sports Marketing Director at Converse from 1986 through 1995, during which time she cultivated Converse’s women’s basketball marketing endeavors including the renowned Converse/WBCA Coach of the Year Award.
Bass’s experience at Converse was not limited to women’s athletics. She coordinated several marketing and merchandise programs geared toward the global basketball audience. These efforts encompassed basketball at a variety of levels including recreational basketball with “Hoop it Up”, men’s college basketball with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and professional basketball with the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.
After graduating in 1984 from ETSU, where she was a four-year women’s basketball letterwinner, Bass enrolled at the University of Tennessee. She served as a graduate assistant for marketing & promotions in the Lady Volunteers athletic department, completing her master’s degree in recreation administration at UT in 1986.
Thousands of fans packed Nissan Stadium during Night 3 of CMA Fest on June 8 to see scheduled performances by Billy Ray Cyrus, Brett Young, Miranda Lambert and the Pistol Annies, Luke Combs, Dierks Bentley and Tim McGraw, with surprise appearances by Lil Nas X, Keith Urban and Tenille Townes.
Hannah Wilkinson & Bunny Shaw / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Former Tennessee soccer standouts Bunny Shaw and Hannah Wilkinson are set to open group play this week as they represent their home countries at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted by France from June 7 through July 7. Shaw makes her World Cup debut as a forward for Jamaica, while Wilkinson makes her third appearance on the sport’s biggest stage as a striker for New Zealand.
GROUP PLAY SCHEDULE: Making its first-ever World Cup appearance, Jamaica will compete in Group C alongside Brazil, Italy and Australia. New Zealand drew Group E, going up against The Netherlands, Canada and Cameroon. Six group winners, six group runners-up and the four best third-placed teams from the six groups will advance to the knockout stage.
See below for a group play schedule and TV listings for both Jamaica and New Zealand.
GROUP C (Jamaica – Bunny Shaw)
Sunday, June 9 / Jamaica vs. Brazil / 9:30 a.m. ET / FS1
Friday, June 14 / Jamaica vs. Italy / 12:00 p.m. ET / FOX
Tuesday, June 18 / Jamaica vs. Australia / 3:00 p.m. ET / FS2
GROUP E (New Zealand – Hannah Wilkinson)
Tuesday, June 11 / New Zealand vs. The Netherlands / 9:00 a.m. ET / FS1
Saturday, June 15 / New Zealand vs. Canada / 3:00 p.m. ET / FS2
Thursday, June 20 / New Zealand vs. Cameroon / 12:00 p.m. ET / FS1
QUICK SHAW BIO: A two-year letter-winner for Tennessee, Shaw transferred to the Vols after two seasons at Eastern Florida State College. The Jamaican superstar shined bright in the Orange and White, amassing 27 goals and 65 points from 2017-18 and racking up a lengthy list of accolades, including SEC Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-America honors in 2018. A recent graduate of UT’s College of Communications & Information, Shaw led all players worldwide with 19 goals scored for Jamaica in the World Cup qualifying rounds last year and was later named to the CONCACAF Best XI.
QUICK WILKINSON BIO: Wilkinson was a five-year standout for the Big Orange from 2012-16, finishing her collegiate career as the No. 2 goal scorer in program history with 33. The Whangarei, New Zealand native was a two-time First Team All-SEC performer and became UT’s fifth All-American with a third team nod from the NSCAA in 2012. Battling post-collegiate injuries and surgeries, Wilkinson recently returned to the pitch and looks to provide veteran leadership for the Ferns this summer.
LADY VOLS IN THE WORLD CUP: Shaw and Wilkinson are two of five Lady Vols to make a Women’s World Cup roster in the program’s 23-year history. Rhian Wilkinson (2000-03) and Marie-Eve Nault (2000-03) have each represented Canada on multiple occasions, while Kendyl Michner (1997-99) became Tennessee’s first World Cup performer for Mexico in 1999.
Thousands of fans packed Nissan Stadium during Night 2 of CMA Fest on June 7 to see scheduled performances by Dan + Shay, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Eric Church and Carrie Underwood, with surprise appearances by Joan Jett and Jon Pardi.
As much as we want to believe in the spontaneity of Garth Brooks, most of the things the G-man does—in my opinion—are backed by plenty of forethought. It’s one of the reasons he’s a master of his craft. So when Garth speaks in hypotheticals, you can usually bet the bank it’s going to come to fruition.
Garth dropped a hypothetical nugget during his “surprise” appearance on Entertainment Tonight as Chase Rice was being interviewed by Nancy O’Dell. Chase, who is an unabashed Garth superfan, told his hero, “You are the reason I’m up here on Entertainment Tonight, so thank you.”
In return, Garth made Chase an offer he couldn’t refuse, saying, “I’ll tell ya what, let’s do a deal, okay? Let’s say if we ever did play Nissan Stadium, you want to open that show?”
“Absolutely,” replied Chase.
If you read those tea leaves, it’s not hard to reach the conclusion that Garth will bring his current Stadium Tour to Nissan Stadium.
Garth’s Stadium Tour has already visited St. Louis, Glendale, Gainesville, Minneapolis (x2) and Pittsburgh, with upcoming sold-out shows in Denver (June 8), Eugene (June 29), Boise (July 19 and 20) and Saskatchewan (Aug. 10).
Chase Rice is following up his first career No. 1 hit, “Eyes On You,” with the release of new single, “Lonely If You Are.”
Penned by Chase, Lindsay Rimes and Hunter Phelps, “Lonely If You Are” is Chase’s first new music since the release of his fourth studio album, Lambs & Lions, in 2017.
“‘Lonely If You Are’ starts out simply with just an acoustic guitar, which is a different sound for me than what people might be used to, but it also goes back to how I started in Nashville—when it was just me with a guitar writing songs,” says Chase. “Lyrically, it’s telling this special girl that even though we might not officially be together right now, ‘go ahead, have a good time with your friends . . . but when that all fades away, give me a call. I’ll be there.’ I can’t wait for the fans to hear this one.”
If you long for the days of hearing Waylon and Hank Jr. on the radio, check out Dillon Carmichael’s new single, “I Do for You.” The Kentucky native, who is the nephew of Eddie and John Michael Montgomery, can croon with the best of ’em.
Penned by Dillon and Jimmy Melton, “I Do For You” features Dillon’s rich baritone backed by pedal steel, fiddle, electric guitar, B3 organ and more. Unlike the 10 tracks on Dillon’s Dave Cobb-produced debut album, Hell On an Angel, “I Do for You” was helmed by Phil O’Donnell at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios in Nashville.
SPARTA, Tenn. – Tennessee head women’s basketball coach Kellie (Jolly) Harper, who was born and raised in this small middle Tennessee city, was officially welcomed back to her hometown with a celebration of “Kellie (Jolly) Harper Day” on Thursday night at White County High School’s Roy Sewell Gymnasium.
Harper, who starred for the Warriors and joins her late father, Kenneth, and brother, Brent, in the school’s athletic hall of fame, entered the venue to hearty cheers from the crowd. She spent the first part of the evening signing autographs, posing for photos and catching up with old friends, neighbors, teachers and coaches. The event was part of UT Athletics’ Summer of Smokey, an initiative that aspires to make Big Orange-flavored visits to cites and towns all over the Volunteer State.
Harper’s high school coach, Steve Holland, addressed the crowd and shared stories and some of the attributes that made Harper the player she was for him and the late Tennessee legend Pat Summitt. Reflecting that Harper was like a coach on the floor as a point guard, he suspected long ago a career in coaching was on the horizon. Like the rest of the folks on hand, he was elated when he learned that Harper was returning to her alma mater to coach the Lady Vols.
Following Holland’s turn at the podium, Harper was given the first-ever key to the city by Sparta mayor Jeff Young and was the recipient of proclamations and personal gifts from state senator Paul Bailey and U.S. Representative John Rose.
White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger stepped to the microphone next and made an announcement that brought the crowd to its feet and left Harper speechless for a moment. The basketball court at the new Findlay Elementary School gym is being named in her honor, a move that Lady Vol fans couldn’t help but find reminiscent of Coach Summitt, who has courts at Cheatham County High School, UT Martin and Tennessee bearing her name.
While speaking to the crowd, Harper expressed thanks for the special evening and the continued support throughout her career. She eventually transitioned into motivational mode, offering words of inspiration to those in attendance.
“Work hard, be dedicated, do things the right way,” Harper said. “You never know where your journey is going to take you. You don’t even know what your dreams are right now. If you have aspirations to be something special, just go for it.
“I didn’t even know this (UT head coaching job) was a dream, because it was Pat Summitt’s job. All of a sudden I get a phone call, and then an unbelievable opportunity and a dream that came true right in front of my eyes. It all started in this county, in this school and with you. I appreciate all of your support along the way.”
Following an interview session with members of the media from the Knoxville, Nashville, Sparta and Cookeville areas, Harper returned to the court to sign autographs and visit with everyone who stayed afterward hoping to catch up with their native daughter.
![Chase Rice Drops Friendly New Single, “Lonely If You Are” [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2019/06/07123945/Chase-Rice-AFF.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
