The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will induct the Class of 2011 into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club. The six-member group includes Mike Hunt (Football), Brent Johnson (Football), Wes Moore (Men's Basketball), Jon Sioredas (Wrestling), Alice Tym (Women's Tennis) and Shannon Womack Robbins (Cross Country/Track & Field).
The banquet is open to the public to attend but seating is limited and reservations are required. The cost is $30.00 per person which includes dinner. Payments and RSVP's can be submitted to the UTC Alumni Office. For more information, email Christine-Lee@utc.edu.
The UTC Athletics Hall of Fame was established to formally recognize outstanding contributions to the heritage and tradition of the university's intercollegiate athletic program. A total of 182 individuals have been inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame during special ceremonies held each year.
Below is a brief biography on each member of the 2011 class. Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com over the next week for a more in-depth look at each inductee, as well as photos from their days as at Chattanooga.
Mike Hunt - Football - 1978-81
Mike Hunt was a two-time All-Southern Conference defensive back for the Mocs football team from 1978-81. He came to UTC as a walk-on during the 1977 season and redshirted as a member of the scout team. He received a scholarship prior to the start of the 1978 season and went on to start at strong safety for three seasons.
Hunt was a key member of two Southern Conference Championship teams in 1978 and 1979. He was named team captain as a junior, earning the first tow two All-SoCon honors. He snagged three interceptions that season, on his way to honorable mention All-American honors. He repeated on the All-SoCon team as a senior in 1981.
Following his career, Hunt was honored by the Chattanooga Times Free Press as a member of the Mocs All-Century Team. He earned his degree in Business Education from UTC in 1983 and is currently the managing director of Energy Trading at Dominion Resources, Inc., in Midlothivan, Va.
Brent Johnson - Football - 1982-85
Brent Johnson was an All-Southern Conference offensive lineman for the Mocs from 1982-85. He started every game of his four-year career on the line and was a key member of Chattanooga's 1984 SoCon championship team.
After redshirting in 1981, Johnson earned a starting role at right guard for UTC. During his string of 44 consecutive starts, he also saw time at center and tackle. He was a part of 26 wins and the Mocs never finished worse than third in the SoCon during his career. A team captain as a senior, Johnson graduated in 3 ½ years and earned his Master's in Business Administration before his playing career was over.
Following his playing days at UTC, he had successful stints in the Arena Football League. After making the All-Arena League team in 1987 he signed with the Chicago Bears and played in three games that season. Johnson is currently an account executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee and lives on Signal Mountain.
Wes Moore - Men's Basketball - 1996-99
Wes Moore left UTC as the men's basketball team's all-time leader in steals and assists. However, he will best be remembered as the starting point guard on Chattanooga's memorable run to the Sweet 16 in 1997. A four-year starter at point guard, Moore totaled 414 assists and 198 steals in 117 games at UTC.
Even though Keegan Bell topped his career assist mark this season, Moore's steals total is the all-time benchmark at Chattanooga. He also set the mark for most threes in a game, hitting nine against Wofford on Nov. 15, 1997.
Moore averaged 7.5 point per game while hitting 36.7% of his three-pointers in his career. His best season came as a junior in 1998 when he put up 9.4 ppg while shooting 42.3% from deep. He graduated with a degree in Sports Administration in 1999 and a Master's Degree in Education in 2009.
Jon Sioredas - Wrestling - 2004-05
Jon Sioredas is a former All-American wrestler at UTC, competing for the Mocs in 2004-05. He was the 2005 Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year and a two-time Southern Conference Champion at 165 pounds.
Sioredas transferred to UTC from Missouri prior to the start of the 2003-04 season. He went 20-8 his first year at Chattanooga and was an All-Southern Conference honoree. As a senior in 2005, he went 29-4 overall with five pins and repeated on the All-SoCon team. At the 2005 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., he pinned Minnesota's Matt Nagel in the fifth place match to earn All-American honors.
Chattanooga finished 21st at the 2005 NCAAs, thanks in large part to Sioredas's performance. That ties for the second best showing at the Division I national tournament in school history. Sioredas graduated in 2005 with a degree in Sociology & Anthropology and is currently an assistant wrestling coach at Old Dominion University.
Alice Tym - Women's Tennis Head Coach - 1974-78
Alice Tym was the first women's tennis head coach at Chattanooga from 1974 to 1978 and her accolades while coaching the Lady Mocs are legendary. She started the women's tennis varsity program at UTC in 1974 and went on to win two AIAW Small College National titles in 1977 and 1978.
Tym is nationally recognized for her collegiate coaching career that included stops at Florida and Yale. She has a long list of accomplishments during her career. She is a member of the University of Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Peoria High School Hall of Fame and the Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2008. Having played in every major tennis championship in her career, Tym is also a member of the International Lawn Tennis Club, a world organization for those who have represented their country in international play.
Tym currently teaches full-time in the Geography Department at UTC. She has studied in China and Japan and has received the Outstanding Professor Award during her time at UTC.
Shannon Womack Robbins - Cross Country/Track & Field - 2002-06
Shannon Womack is one of the most decorated student-athletes in University of Tennessee at Chattanooga history. She won five All-American honors in her career that stretched from 2003-06. She was also a nine-time Southern Conference Runner of the Year and a two-time Academic All-American.
Womack was a three-time SoCon Cross Country Runner of the Year, winning the honors in 2002, 2004 and 2005. She earned All-American honors in Cross Country as a junior and senior. She was a four-time SoCon Runner of the Year in Indoor Track and took home outdoor honors as a junior and senior. She earned All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships each her last three seasons.
Womack's accomplishments in the classroom were just as impressive. A former Scrappy Moore Award Winner herself, she was a two-time Academic All-American. Womack, along with Regina Kirk, was the first UTC student-athlete to be inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame in 2011. Womack earned a Doctorate Physical Therapy from UTC in 2007 and is currently working a Marino Therapy Center in Maryville, Tenn.
Special Award Winners
There are three special awards given out by the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame committee each year, including the Gordon Davenport Award, the Joe Morrison Award and the A.C. "Scrappy" Moore Award.
The Gordon Davenport Award is given annually by the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame to a person who has shown outstanding commitment to the Chattanooga Mocs athletics program. This year's recipient of the Gordon Davenport Award is Chattanooga's Guerry Family. The Guerry's have been longtime supporters of both UTC and Mocs Athletics. Their contributions, both individually and as a group, have been instrumental in the growth and success of the Mocs.
The Joe Morrison Award is given annually by the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame to a former student-athlete or coach for notable accomplishments and life experiences. This year's recipient of the Joe Morrison Award is John Murphy, a successful businessman and football alum.
The A.C. "Scrappy" Moore Award is presented to a current UTC student-athlete who best personifies the athletic department's mission of comprehensive excellence, academically, athletically and socially. This year's recipient of the Scrappy Moore Award is men's golfer Stephan Jaeger.