University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Athletics

Athletics

See also: List of college sports teams in the United States with different nicknames for men's and women's teams

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 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.

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. In July 2008, the team was ranked number 48 on the ESPN list of the most prestigious basketball programs since the 1984–85 season.

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 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.

Golf

The men’s golf squad won its third consecutive Southern Conference trophy and finished 18th in the NCAA Championships in 2009.

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.

Softball

The Mocs’ softball team has won 11 regular season titles and 10 SoCon Tournament Championships. They have also made 7 NCAA tournament appearances.

Wrestling

Chattanooga is home to the only NCAA Division I wrestling program in the state of Tennessee. The Mocs' wrestling team won their fifth consecutive Socon title in the 2008–2009 academic year.

Football

The team plays in the Southern Conference in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) (Socon). Terrell Owens played college football at UTC. The team posted consecutive winning seasons in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011. They play in Finley Stadium, which hosted the NCAA Division I Football Championship from 1997 to 2009.