Ashley Bynum Receives Weakley County Chamber Of Commerce Emerging Leader Of The Year Award
5/15/2026 9:00:00 AM | General
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin senior associate athletic director for internal operations was recognized with the 2026 Emerging Leader of the Year Award by the Weakley County Chamber of Commerce.
The Emerging Leader Award honors a young professional who leads with action, shows up for others and helps move Weakley County forward through service, collaboration and heart. The Chamber of Commerce identified Bynum as "being known for the person behind-the-scenes that gets things done often without being asked, the first name mentioned when something needs to be done well and the person others trust to lead with commitment and heart."
In her role with UT Martin, Bynum has become a trusted and steady presence across campus initiatives. That includes work supporting student-athletes, athletics programs and key university committees. She is a member of the inaugural Chancellor's Leadership Academy and has served in multiple leadership and advisory roles that help guide important decisions and programs.
More recently, Bynum has served as a relied-upon resource for the everchanging landscape of collegiate athletics with challenges such as revenue sharing, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), transfer portal, sports betting integrity and navigating new legislation to just name a few.
Bynum's impact also reaches beyond campus as she serves as the compliance officer for the Weakley County Young Professionals and is actively involved in community outreach, including supporting children and families through Christmas sponsorship efforts with the Department of Human Services. She is consistently present in community events and is known for encouraging others to engage and stay connected to Weakley County.
A Martin, Tenn. native, Bynum joined Skyhawk Athletics in 2017 and is charged with compliance for all of UT Martin's sports while overseeing academic programming for more than 450 student-athletes. She has played a major part in the athletic department's recent success in the classroom as the Skyhawks have posted a school record 3.39 Grade Point Average in each of the last two semesters and tout 13 consecutive semesters with a departmental 3.20 GPA or higher.
Bynum also successfully wrote and secured more than $225,000 in NCAA Accelerated Success Program (AASP) grants, leading to the development of UT Martin's first student-athlete academic center. She has also secured grant funding for mental health and career-readiness programs.
Prior to working in the Skyhawk athletic department, Bynum was an associate attorney, practicing civil law and criminal law. She also has served as an adjunct professor for UT Martin's Political Science & Global Studies since 2017.
Bynum graduated Magna Cum Laude from UT Martin in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Tennessee in 2016.
The Emerging Leader Award honors a young professional who leads with action, shows up for others and helps move Weakley County forward through service, collaboration and heart. The Chamber of Commerce identified Bynum as "being known for the person behind-the-scenes that gets things done often without being asked, the first name mentioned when something needs to be done well and the person others trust to lead with commitment and heart."
In her role with UT Martin, Bynum has become a trusted and steady presence across campus initiatives. That includes work supporting student-athletes, athletics programs and key university committees. She is a member of the inaugural Chancellor's Leadership Academy and has served in multiple leadership and advisory roles that help guide important decisions and programs.
More recently, Bynum has served as a relied-upon resource for the everchanging landscape of collegiate athletics with challenges such as revenue sharing, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), transfer portal, sports betting integrity and navigating new legislation to just name a few.
Bynum's impact also reaches beyond campus as she serves as the compliance officer for the Weakley County Young Professionals and is actively involved in community outreach, including supporting children and families through Christmas sponsorship efforts with the Department of Human Services. She is consistently present in community events and is known for encouraging others to engage and stay connected to Weakley County.
A Martin, Tenn. native, Bynum joined Skyhawk Athletics in 2017 and is charged with compliance for all of UT Martin's sports while overseeing academic programming for more than 450 student-athletes. She has played a major part in the athletic department's recent success in the classroom as the Skyhawks have posted a school record 3.39 Grade Point Average in each of the last two semesters and tout 13 consecutive semesters with a departmental 3.20 GPA or higher.
Bynum also successfully wrote and secured more than $225,000 in NCAA Accelerated Success Program (AASP) grants, leading to the development of UT Martin's first student-athlete academic center. She has also secured grant funding for mental health and career-readiness programs.
Prior to working in the Skyhawk athletic department, Bynum was an associate attorney, practicing civil law and criminal law. She also has served as an adjunct professor for UT Martin's Political Science & Global Studies since 2017.
Bynum graduated Magna Cum Laude from UT Martin in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Tennessee in 2016.
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