With much study, discussion and debate, the UT-Chattanooga wrestling search committee has completed phase I of hiring the school's 13th head wrestling coach.

"The search committee has done its job in identifying a solid pool of quality candidates from our original list and now we are ready for phase II of the search," said UTC athletics director Rick Hart.

According to Hart, phase II consists of exploratory conversations in the next few days with close to a dozen candidates.

"In our phone conversations this week we will put everything on the table so both the school and the candidates have full disclosure of the wrestling program, including coaches salaries, make up of the team, and facilities as well as better discovering the interest level of the applicants," Hart stated. "These conversations should give a better feel for who is a good fit for the job."

Hart did not want to reveal any names of candidates, but a list on themat.com includes Cleveland High School coach and UTC alum Heath Eslinger, Lee Pritts (Missouri assistant) and Carl Perry (Illinois assistant).

Depending on the schedules of candidates, Hart envisions on-campus interviews as early as next week.
"Candidates will meet with athletic staff, school administrators, current wrestlers and the search committee," said Hart. "We could have a coach in place in a couple of weeks."

Three Former Moc Head Coaches:
Jim Morgan (1969-1984): Morgan had planned to enroll in graduate school at UT in the fall of 1968, but it was the summer of 1968 and UTC was in need of a full time wrestling and tennis coach.

Dr. Bob Benson, who had recently been appointed as UTC's vice president of student affairs, told Morgan that he needed Jim to stay in town and lead the wrestling program. Morgan had a grant for graduate school and agreed to stay and coach both sports.

"Dr. Julian Glasser (father of former Moc wrestler Jim Glasser) was adamant that I earn a Master's Degree so I left my teaching and coaching position at McCallie. I was on the way to Knoxville, but Dr. Benson had other plans in mind."

Morgan, who earned his Master's in combined sciences, was Mocs head coach for 16 years with a 203-67-1 record and six Southern Conference titles.

Ethan Reeve (1985-1990): "Jim Morgan called me and asked me to consider the position."

"My six years (1985-1990) as head coach at UTC were great years for me and the Old-Timers Club was the best part of the program."

Reeve noted that the wrestling alums gave a good deal of time and money to the program which included painting the wrestling room and purchasing chin up bars and weight equipment.

"I would have stayed as head coach longer, but with a family and a salary of only $20,000 ($14,000 when he started) I had to move on."
Reeve stated that the success to any program is to make sure the coaches pay attention to the wrestlers and to let the wrestlers know they care.

"After the first year when several guys weeded themselves out, we never had less than 43 guys in the room. There were many wrestlers who were never going to put on the blue and gold singlet and step on the mat, but they were committed to the program."

"Those were some tough times with only four scholarships and a small team budget some pre-game meals consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but in the long run it was all worth it. We succeeded through adversity."

"I hope that UTC hires a guy who truly cares about the program and is willing to help the guys develop as good citizens as well as quality wrestlers."

Reeve's record was 57-38-1 with five SoCon titles and is currently the head strength and conditioning coordinator at Wake Forest.

Mark Leen (1996-2001): Leen was the runner-up for the Oklahoma job in 1994 and on the advice of former Oklahoma State coach Myron Roderick he applied for the UTC job two years later.

"When Myron told me to seriously look at the Chattanooga job (Leen was then the head coach at Garden City (Kansas) Community College), I laughed and said 'I am not going to Chattanooga', but once I came here for the interview I changed my mind,"

"With no pro league for wrestlers and coaches we are constantly having many highly qualified men applying for every wrestling job which comes open. So it doesn't surprise me that UTC has so many qualified coaches to choose from."

Leen believes that two of the top candidates for UTC are Carl Perry (Illinois assistant coach) and Lee Pritts (Missouri assistant coach).
Leen was 43-35-1 at UTC and led the Mocs to three SoCon championships.
Hart on UTC Athletics ... In his Monday night state of the UTC athletics address to the UTC Mocs Booster Club, Hart touched on a variety of topics.

Strive For Excellence: Hart stressed the three points of excellence for the 317 student/athletes; pursue success in the area of academics (earn a degree), competitiveness (SoCon and national championships) and social (help shape young people's lives)...

Mocs on Radio - WTZO 105.1 FM is the flagship station for 2009-2010 and will broadcast the vast majority of Moc sporting contests which will be in radio, along with call-in shows - UTC has worked with Learfield Mocs Sports Properties and Brewer Media Group.

Top 100 - UTC ranks 99th (a school best) among all Division I schools which competed in the NCAA post-season - Five Moc teams that earned points were wrestling, men's basketball, softball, and men's and women's golf - UTC had the highest ranking of all Southern Conference schools, with Furman the next best at 165th - In the SoCon, the Mocs finished second in both the men's and women's team standings ...

New Website: the new, improved gomocs.com athletic web site will be showcased on July 1 -
Academics: 53% of UTC athletes graduated during a six year span, 2001-2006; higher than the overall school average (44%) ...

Facilities: Scrappy Moore Field: UTC plans to re-do the football practice field with hopes of artificial turf for use by football and possibly women's soccer - McKenzie Arena: A recently completed master plan projects an approximate $18 million budget for changes and improvements - Hart's goal is to make McKenzie Arena relevant for the next 25 years - Land at Engel Stadium: Financial donors have expressed an interest in developing facilities for track and field and women's soccer -
Athletic Alumni: Former Mocs can register at onceamoc.com (the official UTC athletic alumni web site) and also find former teammates and coaches.

Contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net