UT's Joan Cronan and OVC's Beth DeBauche Discuss 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week."  Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as "Women’s History Week."  In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month."  Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.  Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

 Living Your Best Life Radio with Genma Holmes celebrates the strength, courage, and boldness of women who embrace life to the fullest and have not let others "no" determine their destiny in life. Join us to hear the from women who are seasoned with success and who believe in mentoring other women to become trailblazers as they empower, inspire, and motivate us to live our BEST life.

On Saturday, March 29, 2014, tune in to hear the Joan Cronan, the University of Tennessee AD Emeritus, and Beth DeBauche,the Commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, discuss the exciting road to the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four, the largest women event to be hosted in Nashville.

Listeners will hear from the legendary AD Emeritus, Joan Cronan, as she shares what drives her to give 1000%, how she pushes others to be the best they can be, how sports shaped her leadership skills in the game of life and what are the "B.E.L.L.S" she rings daily. Hear her share her passion for the University of Tennessee Women Athletics and her love of women supporting women. She will also share about hiring Coach Pat Summit and the mission of the  Pat Summit Foundation. 

Commissioner DeBauche will discuss her path trajectory from being a divorce attorney to her leading the Ohio Valley Conference. Hear her share her strong beliefs in mentoring relationships and the role mentors have played in life. Commissioner DeBauche will give listeners an insiders' view of working with twelve universities and with over 4,000 college athletes and how the OVC is helping students prepare for success beyond the OVC. She will also share the exciting events planned for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four, the economical impact to the Nashville area, and how important volunteers will be at the 2014 Women's Final Four.

You will not want to miss this show. Two amazing women, Cronan and DeBauche, sharing their passion for the highest women’s collegiate sporting event in the country.

Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In, streaming live online at UStream.TV, and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10:00am CST. 

More About UT's Joan Cronan

Joan Cronan has been a leader in collegiate athletics for almost four decades. She has served as the Director of Athletics at the University of Tennessee since 1983 and has developed the Lady Volunteers into one of the most positive and recognizable brands in intercollegiate athletics.

Cronan severed on the 2010 NCAA Division I Leadership Council and previously was selected by her peers as the president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of athletics (NACDA) in 2008-09 and president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) in 2007-08. Additionally, Cronan has served on the NCAA’s Executive Committee, Management Council, as well as the NCAA’s Council, and is a member of the NCAA Championship Cabinet. She also has been a member of the Southeastern Conference Executive Committee.

Cronan makes her home in Knoxville and is the mother of Kristi (Mrs. Rhett Benner) and Stacey (Mrs. Kent Bristow), both 1994 graduates of UT. She is the proud grandmother to three grandsons, Chase and Reed Bristow, and Quinn Benner; and two granddaughters, Reese Lauren Benner and Larkin Ann Bristow. She lost her husband Tom, in August 2006, after his valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

 More About Commissioner Beth DeBauche 

Elizabeth (Beth) DeBauche was named Commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 29, 2009 and began her duties with the league in September 2009.

DeBauche is the seventh full-time Commissioner in the 63-year history of the OVC. DeBauche is one of just eight females to be the head of a Division I Conference in 2013-14.

DeBauche will serve as the Chair of the Nashville Local Organizing Committee (NLOC) for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Final Four. The Ohio Valley Conference will serve as the host institution of the event which will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 6 and 8.

Under DeBauche, the league started an extensive strategic planning and branding initiative which led to the development of the league’s first tagline of “Inspiring Excellence Since 1948.” The project also produced the league’s first 30-second PSA commercial in over a decade as well as a longer feature video highlighting the Conference.

In her four years with the league, the OVC has seen postseason success men’s basketball as Murray State topped Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010, Morehead State beat Louisville in the second round in 2011 and Murray State bested Colorado State in the second round in 2012. Overall the league has won NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games in four of the past five years, including four-straight years (2009-12) for the first-time in league history.

In 2012-13 DeBauche helped spearhead a year-long celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Title IX. As part of the celebration, each of the OVC's 12-member institutions identified a pioneer in women's athletics and gender equality from their school to be honored during the year and celebrated at a home athletic event on their campus.  The celebration was capped in May when those honorees were recognized at a special luncheon as part of the OVC Spring Meetings.

DeBauche currently serves on the NCAA Committee on Athletic Certification, the NCAA Division I Leadership Council and the NCAA Rules Working Group.

More About the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four

From April 6 – 8, 2014, in partnership with the Ohio Valley Conference, the Nashville Sports Council and the city of Nashville will be hosting the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four.
The NCAA Women’s Final Four is the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, which runs for three weeks in March and April. The main attraction will be the three basketball games played over two days at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, including the two National Semifinals on Sunday, April 6 and the National Championship game on Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

The Final Four® weekend experience is “More Than Just Three Games®.” Throughout the week of the Championship, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Convention, community engagement and legacy programs give the event its exciting pulse. It is a time for everyone to celebrate and experience women’s college basketball at the highest level.

If you would like to receive information and updates from the NCAA, sign up to receive email newsletters.

Photo credits: Genma Holmes, OVC, UT Knoxville

Nashvillians From All Backgrounds Work To Bring Area back to Life

On Thursday, April 29th , 2010, it started raining and for several days the rains from the sky did not cease. On Saturday May 1st, our city started feeling the effects of that rain. It rained more in three days than it had all of last year. On Monday, May 3rd the skies were crystal clear and a beautiful blue and the devastation from the weekend storms were evident for all to see. Our city, the city of Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region were declared disasters area along with twenty-two counties. Flood waters had gotten as high as 52 feet.

From Hermitage to Donelson, Bordeaux to Brentwood, Hendersonville to Rivergate, Metro Center to Metroplex, Uptown to Downtown, West Hamilton road to Gallatin Road, Main Street to Charlotte Ave, Briley Parkway to Old Hickory Blvd., I-65 to I-24- to I-40, Robertson County to Hickman County, Antioch to Ashland City, every inch of this area was impacted in some way; some areas more so than others. If it was not water from the Cumberland River, Old Hickory and Percy Priest lakes, creeks, or streams, water from tears touched all of us.

Nashville is called Music City, USA. It was called Music City because of the hearts of several talented young students, known as the Jubilee Singers, at Fisk University led by Ella Sheppard. They were on a mission to raise funds for their school. They could not get concert bookings because they were Black living in the segregated South. The traveled North and was heard at a convention. From there they were invited around the country to perform. In 1872, they sang at the World Peace Festival in Boston and then invited by President Ulysses S. Grant to perform at the White House. In 1873, they invited to sing before Queen Victoria. When she heard the beautiful acapella voices of the Jubilee Singers she proclaimed, “They must come from Music City.”

Our beloved city is rich in diversity and culture that is not often reflected in national or even local media. The Flood of 2010 ruined not only national landmarks like The Grand Ole Opry, and known businesses like the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills Mall that employs thousand or destroyed historical documents and musical artifacts or damaged the homes of country stars that were seen nightly on the news once the national media showed up, but everyday working people who make this city great. Many, many lives were disrupted or devastated. Black, White, Brown, and Yellow people showed up to help each other. Budget strapped non-profits opened doors to assist not only those newly homeless but their own people lives were turned upside down. Counselors needed consoling. Politicians stopped political rhetoric and campaigning and helped their fellow neighbors and constituents. Jews and Gentiles, Catholic and Protestants, Republican, Democrats, Independents; all worked beside each other these last two weeks.

I visited with several pest control operators who businesses are under water. There were no need for words; I knew firsthand what they were feeling. Tears flowed from men I know and respect greatly in this business unashamedly. I met overwhelmed moms who just got out of the hospital with newborns with no diapers, formula or personal toiletries for themselves. I saw elderly folks who were bedridden with soiled diapers on for days. Your desire for dignity does not go away in the middle of a national disaster. I spoke to several soldiers in Iraq serving our country wondering if their families are being served. Men protecting us abroad were feeling helpless because they were not there for their families. The needs are endless and consuming but I believe in the goodness of people. I saw folks from every economical, racial and ethnic background bewildered, shocked, and speechless but determined to get through this tough time. We are the Volunteer State, we will recover!

The photos you are about to see are not tagged. I chose to let you see for yourself a small fraction of who we all. Pictures tell stories. Unfortunately, those stories can be manipulated by a press that does not always give the whole story. There are more photos that will be going up later. I have hundreds of pictures that reflect our diversity, our generosity, and our courage in times of adversity. I saw neighbors being neighbors to each other, without hesitation, without question. I don’t know what the future holds but I know WHO holds the future in HIS hands. Hang in there!

(Ludye N. Wallace suffered a tremendous amount of damage to his home. While waiting for the water to reside in his residence, he gave sacrificially of his time to photograph the pics you see. You may contact him at Ludyeonduty@gmail.com)
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