| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | |
| Motto: | Latin: Faciemus |
| Mottoeng: | We shall achieve |
| Type: | Public university |
| Endowment: | $147.1 million (2020)[1] |
| Chancellor: | Steve Angle |
| City: | Chattanooga |
| State: | Tennessee |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 35.0458°N -85.2999°W |
| Undergrad: | 10,239[2] |
| Postgrad: | 1,399 (graduate, pre-professional, doctoral) |
| Administrative Staff: | 422 |
| Campus: | Urban, 321acres[3] |
| Sporting Affiliations: | NCAA Division I – SoCon |
| Nickname: | Mocs |
| Mascot: | Scrappy the Mocking Bird |
| Colors: | Navy and Gold[4] |
| Parent: | University of Tennessee System |
| Former Names: | Chattanooga University (1886–1889) U.S. Grant Memorial University, Chattanooga campus (1889–1907) University of Chattanooga (1907–1969) |
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga)[5] is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System.
UTC was founded in 1886 as the then-private and racially exclusive Chattanooga University, which was soon merged in 1889 with the Athens-based Grant Memorial University (now Tennessee Wesleyan University),[6] becoming the Chattanooga campus of U.S. Grant Memorial University.[7] [8] In 1907, the school changed its name to University of Chattanooga. In 1964 the university merged with Zion College, which had been established in 1949 and later became Chattanooga City College. In 1969 the University of Chattanooga joined the UT system and became the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.[9]
The University of Chattanooga Foundation Inc. is a private corporation, created in 1969, that manages the university's private endowment.[10]
UTC uses the semester system, with five optional "mini-terms" in the summer. The leadership of the campus rests upon the chancellor, who answers to the UT System President. The university is currently headed by Chancellor Steve Angle.[11]
The following people have had the post of President or Chancellor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Prior to 1969, the institution was known as the University of Chattanooga (1907 - 1969), U.S. Grant University (1889 - 1907), and Chattanooga University (1886 - 1889). At the time of UTC's establishment in 1969, the name of the leader became chancellor instead of president.[12]
Chattanooga is best known for its nationally ranked Business program,[13] Engineering, Nursing, English, Chemistry, Accounting, Psychology, Music, and Education departments. The university offers over 140 undergraduate majors and concentrations, and over 50 undergraduate minors.[14] Chattanooga also offers nearly 100 graduate programs and concentrations,[14] including a highly ranked master's program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology[15] and PhD programs in Computational Engineering and Physical Therapy. In an effort to expand the horizons of its student body, UTC recently began an exchange program with Kangnung National University of Kangnung, South Korea.
SimCenter is UTC's computational engineering and simulation center. In November 2005, SimCenter was listed as the 89th most powerful supercomputer by Top500.[20] On November 20, 2007, the university announced the center has been named a National Center for Computational Engineering. More recently, The SimCenter provided the academic research for a new source of alternative energy unveiled by Bloom Energy Corporation in Sunnyvale, California.[21]
The Clinical Infectious Disease Control Research Unit is a research interest group composed of UTC faculty, students, and local partners. [22] Members of the CIDC have had their research published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as presented at professional meetings and conferences. More information on their current projects and recent events can be found on UTC's website. [23]
The university is served by CARTA bus routes 4, 7, 10, 14, 19, and 28. Route 14 only operates on weekdays during fall and spring terms, when the university is session. The route runs on and off the campus on McCallie, Houston, Vine, Douglas, Fifth, and Palmetto Streets. A recent extension serves Third, O'Neal, and Central Streets, as well as Erlanger Hospital, and a large parking lot at Engel Stadium. All students showing valid university identification cards (MocsCards) ride for free on all CARTA routes, year-round.
Patten Chapel is one of the busiest sanctuaries in Chattanooga. Mostly weddings and memorial services are held there. A bride's room has been prepared and is always ready. Reserving the chapel should be done around a year in advance as its popularity sees events almost every weekend. Wedding receptions are not hosted at the chapel.
Formerly the Lupton Memorial Library, Lupton Hall, named for T. Cartter and Margaret Rawlings Lupton, was constructed in 1974 to replace the aging John Storrs Fletcher Library (which has since been restored and renamed Fletcher Hall). As of 2005, the library's collection includes nearly 2 million items, including the Fellowship of Southern Writers archives. In early 2008 the university was granted funding to build a new library.[24]
The university broke ground in 2010 for the new $48 million 180000square feet library. Construction was completed on the UTC Library in January 2015.[25]
Following the opening of the new UTC Library, Lupton Hall began renovations in 2018.[26] Opening to students and faculty in 2020, Lupton's entire 116,000 square feet of available space had been gutted and rebuilt to include student centers, academic departments under the College of Arts and Sciences, various classroom spaces, and a new on-campus restaurant, 'Freshens'.[27]
See main article: Chattanooga Mocs. Chattanooga's colors are navy and old gold; their men's teams and athletes are nicknamed Mocs, and women's teams and athletes are Lady Mocs. Chattanooga athletics teams compete in NCAA Division I (FCS for football) in the Southern Conference (SoCon) and have been ranked as a national top 100 athletic program by The National Association of Collegiate Director's of Athletics (NACDA) in the Division I Learfield Sports Director's Cup.[28]
See main article: Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball and Chattanooga Mocs women's basketball. Chattanooga's men's basketball program has been among the best in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977–78. The Mocs have won 10 SoCon Tournament titles, tied for first all-time with former member West Virginia and Davidson, 10 regular-season league championships prior to the change to the division format in 1995 and seven division titles for 27 totals titles. In 1997, led by coach Mack McCarthy and Chattanooga native Johnny Taylor, the Mocs made a run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 14 seed, beating Georgia and Illinois before falling to Providence. Before making the move to Division I, Chattanooga won the Division II National Championship in 1977.[29] In July 2008, the team was ranked number 48 on the ESPN list of the most prestigious basketball programs since the 1984–85 season.[30]
The Mocs won the SoCon tournament once again in 2009. Defeating the College of Charleston Cougars 80–69 in the championship game on their home court at the McKenzie Arena, the Mocs punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament, their first since 2005.
Jimmy Fallon from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon chose the Mocs as his team of choice going into the 2009 NCAA tournament. The Wednesday night (March 18) show included a live Skype chat with Head Coach John Shulman, as well as representatives of the pep band and cheerleading squads made in studio. Fallon's house band The Roots wrote and performed an ode to Shulman titled, "The Don Juan of the SoCon" and Shulman and his six seniors (Nicchaeus Doaks, Zach Ferrell, Kevin Goffney, Khalil Hartwell, Stephen McDowell and Keyron Sheard) made an in-studio appearance following their tournament game with UConn.
The Lady Mocs are the most successful women's basketball program in Southern Conference history with 15 regular season titles since 1983–1984, 10 consecutive conference championships at the end of 2008–2009 and 14 overall conference championships.[31]
In August 2012, UTC golfer Steven Fox won the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Women's golf posted a 3.46 team GOA in the spring while advancing to the NCAA Division I finals in just the second year of the program since disbanding in the mid-1980s.[32]
See main article: Chattanooga Mocs football. The team plays in the Southern Conference (SoCon) in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA). Hall of Famer Terrell Owens played wide receiver for the Mocs from 1992 to 1995. The team won three-straight SoCon championships from 2013 to 2015. They play in Finley Stadium, which hosted the NCAA Division I Football Championship from 1997 to 2009.
In 2021, the team fired its offensive line coach, Chris Malone, for a social media post that was derogatory about Georgia and Civil Rights leader Stacey Abrams.[33]
The school's athletic teams are called the Mocs. The teams were nicknamed Moccasins until 1996. (The origin of the name is uncertain; however, Moccasin Bend is a large horseshoe-shaped bend in the Tennessee River directly below Lookout Mountain.)
The mascot has taken on four distinct forms. A water moccasin was the mascot in the 1920s, and then a moccasin shoe (known as "The Shoe") was used as the school's mascot at times in the 1960s and 1970s. From the 1970s until 1996, the mascot was Chief Moccanooga, an exaggerated Cherokee tribesman.
In 1996, the Moccasins name and image were dropped in favor of the shortened "Mocs" and an anthropomorphized northern mockingbird, in accordance with the state bird, named "Scrappy" dressed as a railroad engineer. The school's main athletic logo features Scrappy riding a train (a reference to Chattanooga's history as a major railroad hub and to the song "Chattanooga Choo Choo"). The mascot takes its name from former football coach A. C. "Scrappy" Moore.
The fight song for UTC is "FightChattanooga".[34]
See main article: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Marching Mocs.
The marching band is referred to as the "Marching Mocs" and performs at all home games.