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by Debbie Harmison White, Old Dominion University Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations
I first crossed paths with Debby Jennings at a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) convention in
Clockwise, top, left to right: Jennings (left) serving as press officer at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los
Angeles; at the White House with President George H. Bush honoring the NCAA National Champion Lady
Vols women's basketball team; recognized during The University of Tennessee's Honorary Letterman Ceremony in 2008.
1979 after attending her breakout session on women’s sports. I found it rather ironic that she and I shared the same first name (although spelled differently) and were promoting successful women’s basketball teams coached by eventual Hall of Famers.
It was the beginning of a four-decade friendship that has included working side-by-side at National Sports Festivals, Final Fours, receiving similar promotions throughout the years, and supporting each other when we were diagnosed and survived cancer.
And, yes it is again “ironic” that we are both being recognized by CoSIDA - in the same year - with Lifetime Achievement awards in Dallas.
There have been just a fortunate few COSIDA members who attended and worked their entire career at their alma mater, and fewer who had a greater impact on the profession than Debby.
A 1977 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Debby began her career as a graduate assistant and the school’s first sports information director for women’s athletics that same year. As one of the few women in the profession, Debby quickly became the go-to reference for publicizing women’s athletics following the national success and media coverage of the Lady Vols women’s basketball program.
Her 35-year career at Tennessee was filled with accomplishments, accolades and firsts that would fill a book. In fact, she has authored three books, assisted on an HBO documentary on the Lady Vols, and was honored by CoSIDA as the second woman to win the prestigious Arch Ward award in 2008 and the third woman inducted into the COSIDA Hall of Fame in 2002.
Another CoSIDA honor came Debby's way in 2011 when she was recognized with the organization's Trailblazer Award, which is now named for the late Mary Jo Haverbeck, the inaugural award recipient and a peer of Jennings.
Debby was the first sports information director to win the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Mel Greenberg award for lifelong contributions to women’s basketball, and was recognized by the media in Tennessee with induction into the state’s Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
Her adopted hometown of Knoxville honored her with “Debby Jennings Day” in 2002 in recognition of her then-25 years at Tennessee, and inducted her into the Greater Knoxville Hall of Fame in 2009. She served the United States at two Olympic Games, Pan American and World University Games.
And, Lady Vol women’s basketball teams won eight NCAA titles and made 21 “Final Four” appearances during her tenure,
Clockwise, l to r: Jennings receives the 2008 CoSIDA Arch Ward honor from CoSIDA president Charles Bloom;
presented the 2011 CoSIDA Trailblazer Award by CoSIDA president Larry Dougherty; with family and UT
colleagues following her Trailblazer Award recognition.
while her publications for Tennessee’s women’s teams won over 400 awards from CoSIDA.
But aside from the awards and recognition, Debby’s greatest legacy may be in the number of student assistants who followed her tutelage and example to enter the sports communication field. From a one-woman office in 1977, to a nine-person staff in 2009, she helped advance the careers of 79 UT students/graduate assistants and mentored 41 into the full-time ranks as SID’s at colleges across the country.
Additionally, she gave back to her profession and her alma mater as an adjunct professor for 21 years in the College of Education, handling the supervision, grading and project coordination for graduate and undergraduate students majoring in sports communication, sports management and sport administration.
“I was lucky to come along at time when women participating in intercollegiate athletics were taking a foothold on the national scene,” says Debby. “I was even more fortunate to get the opportunity to start and end my career at the University of Tennessee, which was committed to excellence for its Lady Vols and women’s athletics department.
“For 35 years, I worked alongside so many great media experts in my CoSIDA family. You all helped me grow to become a sports information/communications professional. Please know it was my distinct honor and privilege to document the shining moments of 1,786 Lady Vol student-athletes as well as an incredible collection of Hall of Fame coaches and staff members over the course of my career.”
Debby Jennings has had a lifetime of achievements in a career and at a place she loved. Congratulations to my lifelong friend.