Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Vice Chancellor & Sr. Associate AD
- Email:
- Phone:
- 423-425-2007
Emily Blackman, Ph. D., is in her 17th season at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Athletic Academic Enhancement.  She was promoted to her role from Senior Associate Athletics Director in January 2020.
Dr. Blackman currently oversees all of the academic support for the Mocs student-athletes and is the sport administrator for the men's and women’s tennis programs. She began her current role in January 2010.
The Athletic Academic Enhancement position was a new job created to direct the academic guidance given to Mocs student-athletes.  She was promoted to Associate Athletics Director in September 2012 and Senior Associate AD in January 2018.Â
The Mocs have set or tied school-records for student-athlete grade-point-averages throughout Dr. Blackman's tenure. This includes the spring of 2014 when the department-wide GPA topped 3.0 for the first time (3.07). It has happened 23 times in the 24 semesters since with spring 2024 standing out as the first time all 16 programs finished at 3.0 or higher.
New records came in 2020 with a 3.421 GPA in the spring followed by 3.309 in the fall. Those were the first marks above 3.2, but not the last. Eight more followed with 2025-26 serving as the best athletic season as a new record of 3.443 landed in the fall only to be topped by 3.4522 in the spring.
There are 11 semesters with 50+ 4.0 students with a high of 79 (fall 2025). The Dean's List has seen 200 or more Mocs in five semesters with a high of 241 in the fall term of 2025, more than 72 percent of rostered athletes.
That semester also registered the most 3.0s with 284, 85.3 percent of the total student-athlete population. More than half of all student-athletes have made the Athletics Director's Honor Roll (3.0+) in each term since she joined the department. The graduation rates for Mocs student-athletes also climbed from 48 percent at the beginning of her tenure to an all-time high of 91% in 2022. Â
Blackman's leadership has also been utilized on a national level.  She served on the NCAA Progress Toward Degree Committee from 2019-2023 and was the committee chair in 2022-23. She is also a 2017 graduate of the University of Tennessee Leadership Institute. The UT Leadership Institute's purpose is to increase participants’ understanding of leadership in higher education and promote leadership effectiveness in the University system.
Dr. Blackman first came to Chattanooga in June 2009, serving as an advisor in the Center for Advisement and Student Success. She was part of a new and innovative team of advisors that helped to integrate the largest freshman class in school history into university life.
Prior to that, Dr. Blackman worked in the Registrar's Office at the University of New Mexico as the Athletic Specialist. She was responsible for athletic admissions, certifying NCAA eligibility, progress toward degree and APR. She also worked in the UNM Athletic Compliance Office for three years and was involved with the CHAMPS Life Skills program and football advisement during her tenure.
Dr. Blackman was employed with the Detroit Lions for five seasons, working with in both the player personnel and salary cap departments. She also gained valuable experience working at the Joe Louis Arena with indoor soccer, the Detroit Red Wings and at Tiger Stadium.
Originally from Somers, Conn, Dr. Blackman earned her Bachelor's Degree in Health Promotion from Auburn University in 1997. She completed her master's degree in Sport Administration from Wayne State University in 2000 and her M.B.A. from UNM 2005. She completed her Ph.D. in Sport Administration from New Mexico in 2008.
Emily and her husband, JAy, were married in May of 2006. He is the Mocs' Deputy Athletics Director for Internal Operations.  They have three daughters, Talley LaRee, Elin Elizabeth, and Nora Aycock.
Updated October 2026
