Tennessee marks 50th anniversary of Title IX with panel of Lady Vols
Under the watchful gaze of the Pat Summitt statue, an eight-member panel of two athletics directors, two longtime administrators, one head coach and three athletes convened for a roundtable discussion about the 50th anniversary of Title IX, its impact on women’s athletics at Tennessee and the Lady Vols legacy of leadership and excellence in women’s athletics.
By Maria M. Cornelius
Under the watchful gaze of the Pat Summitt statue, an eight-member panel of two athletics directors, two longtime administrators, one head coach and three athletes convened for a roundtable discussion about the 50th anniversary of Title IX, its impact on women’s athletics at Tennessee and the Lady Vols legacy of leadership and excellence in women’s athletics.
The panel consisted of Joan Cronan, who served as women’s athletics director from 1983 to 2012 and now holds an emeritus position; Doug Dickey, who served as Tennessee’s football coach from 1964-69 and athletics director from 1985-2002; Holly Warlick, a Lady Vol basketball player from 1976-80 and track athlete, assistant coach from 1985-2012 and head coach from 2012-19; Debby Jennings, the longtime sports information director for women’s athletics from 1977 to 2012; Donna Thomas, a longtime administrator from 1989-2019; India Chiles, a softball player from 2004-07 who competed in three Women’s College World Series; Maya Neal, a soccer player from 2015-19 and a multi-event track & field athlete from 2016-18; and Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, a track & field athlete from 1980-83, All-American, national title winner and Olympic gold medalist.