Donna Crone retired August 2, 2024, after serving a multitude of roles at CBU over 27 years. She served as Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator in 2023-24 after a two year tenure as Director of Athletics, seven years as Associate Athletic Director, Assistant Athletic Director and NCAA Compliance Coordinator from 2005 to 2021 and head softball coach from 2000 to 2009. In all, she served as the Senior Woman Administrator for 20 years and as Interim Director of Athletics from September 2013 to June 2014, after longtime CBU Athletics administrator Joe Nadicksbernd passed away.
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In Crone's coaching career she had 11 players named to the Academic All-Gulf South Conference Team, including seven in her last five seasons. Jenny Bernard was named an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2006. Crone coached 16 All-GSC West Division players, including five first-teamers, Megan Pilkington in 2004, Nikki Dunn in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and Victoria Mathews in 2009. Dunn was named the GSC West Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2007. Dunn and Pilkington also won the GSC West Freshman of the Year award. Pilkington earned it in 2001 and Dunn in 2006.
On March 15, 2000, CBU set the NCAA Division II record for triples in one game with seven, a mark which still stands.
Crone graduated from CBU with a B.S. in Business in 1983 and earned a Master's in Business Education from the University of Memphis in 1988. Crone played two seasons of basketball and two seasons of tennis at CBU, earning the team MVP award in tennis as a senior.
She resides in Memphis with husband Chris (CBU, '76) children Kristen (CBU, 2011) and Justin (CBU, 2016), along with daughter-in-law Meg Mattis Crone (CBU, 2017)Â and granddaughter Callie Ann (future CBU Buc).
