Diane Turnham - Senior Associate AD/SWA - Women's Volleyball Support Staff - Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Diane Turnham

Title:
Senior Associate AD/SWA
Email:
diane.turnham@mtsu.edu
Phone:
898-2938

Updated August 2024

Diane Turnham, deputy athletic director and senior women’s administrator, is in her 43rd year with the Blue Raiders. Voted Middle Tennessee’s employee of the year for 2001-02, Turnham has served two stints as the department’s interim athletic director and was elected into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2020, she finished serving her fifth of five years on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, and served as its Chair for the 2019-20 season.

Most recently, Turnham was awarded the 2023 TSSAA Distinguished Service Award, the Athena Award for her work to promote and enhance the status of women, and the Tempest Award, which is given annually to honor an individual in Middle Tennessee who has acted to address the systemic barriers to equity for women and girls and thereby has contributed to the mission of the American Association of University Women. Turnham was chosen for her work supporting female student-athletes at Middle Tennessee, as well as other universities. Conference USA also recognized Turnham as a Title IX Trailblazer at the 2022 Women’s Leaders in College Sports conference.

It is one of several awards that has been bestowed upon Turnham throughout her illustrious career.

In the spring of 2010, Turnham received the King Hampton Award which is presented to the employee who makes significant contributions to improve the status of women on campus.

On March 1, 2004, Turnham was appointed the acting athletic director when then-AD Boots Donnelly underwent heart surgery. Turnham handled the position for two months before returning to her position as the associate athletic director overseeing women’s athletics.

President Sidney McPhee then turned the reins back over to Turnham as interim athletic director on January 12, 2005, following the resignation of Donnelly. Turnham served in that role for nearly five months until Chris Massaro was hired on April 8, 2005.

In January of 2014, Turnham was promoted to senior associate athletic director. She oversees women’s sports in addition to handling the department’s personnel changes and serves as administrator for women’s basketball and volleyball as well as serving as the deputy Title IX Coordinator for Athletics.

Before her present role, Turnham was an assistant athletic director for compliance for seven years. She was the first full-time compliance director and was in charge of overseeing the policies and procedures of the athletic department’s compliance for all NCAA rules.

Although finished serving on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, serving on such bodies is nothing new for Turnham, who has also served as the chair of the Sun Belt Conference’s Senior Women’s Administrators and as a member of the league’s executive staff committee up until 2008. Additionally, Turnham served as a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee from 2004 to 2008 and was chair of that committee for the 2008 season. Turnham also served four years on the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee from 2009 to 2012. She also served as the chair of that last committee for her last two years of service.

Currently, Turnham is serving a three-year term on the NCAA Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championship Committee.

In May of 2003, Turnham was honored by the All-American Football Foundation as the outstanding associate athletic director.

Turnham served as the first full-time head coach of the women’s volleyball team for nine years while also serving as the only assistant coach with the women’s basketball team. During her tenure as a basketball coach at Middle Tennessee, Turnham earned eight OVC championships and six trips to the NCAA tournament and was responsible for recruiting possibly the best women’s basketball player, Kim Webb, to ever don a Lady Raider uniform. Webb’s jersey is retired and she is a member of the Blue Raider Hall of Fame.

The 1980 graduate of Lipscomb spent four years playing college basketball before serving as an assistant coach at APSU for two seasons.

Married to Kyle Turnham, the Mount Juliet, Tenn., native enjoys spending time with her family and working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at MTSU. The couple has one son, Steven Charles, who is a graduate of MTSU.