Kara Lawson appointed to the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees

On Monday, Wizards television color analyst Kara Lawson was appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the University of Tennessee’s Board of Trustees. The state’s General Assembly has to confirm her appointment, along with the other nine members who were appointed. They include Bill Rhodes, the CEO of AutoZone, and Donnie Smith, fomer President and CEO of Tysons food. Lawson’s appointment will start on July 1, 2018 once she is confirmed.

As a member of the Board of the Trustees, Lawson and the other Trustees will have a major say on who the University of Tennessee system appoints to major roles and university direction as whole. It’s generally the most powerful entity within any university.

The University of Tennessee is a major part of Lawson’s life. She graduated from UT-Knoxville in 2003. She also played four seasons as a guard for the late Pat Summitt.

After her graduation, Lawson played 13 years in the WNBA for the Sacramento Monarchs (2003-09); Connecticut Sun (2010-13); and Washington Mystics (2014-15). While in the WNBA, Lawson was part of the Monarchs’ 2005 WNBA championship team. Lawson was also a WNBA All-Star in 2007 and a member of the 2008 USA Basketball women’s national team that won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Lawson’s announcing career started since 2004 when she was an analyst for the Sacramento Kings. Lawson soon received roles at ESPN where she did college basketball and NBA games before taking the Wizards position in the 2017-18 season while keeping her ESPN roles.

Lawson isn’t the only Tennessee alumna within the Wizards’ family. Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld is one of the Volunteers’ all-time greats from the 1970’s, and his number is now retired.

Congratulations to Lawson for being appointed as a trustee at UT!