With UTC golfer Steven Fox bringing national attention to Chattanooga and the university with his U.S. Amateur championship this past weekend, it is worth listing other key sports accomplishments as related to the athletic history of the university.

 UTC Sports – The Top 12.

 1. U.S. Amateur Championship – 2012 … Senior Steven Fox won six matches to claim the top amateur tournament in the nation … was 3-down after 22 holes in the 36–hole final … and then 2-down with two holes to play .

.. Fox won both with a birdie on 17 and a par on 18 and claimed the championship with a birdie on the first extra hole … Fox beat the No.1 ranked amateur in the world - Chris Williams - in the round of 16 and beat Cal-Berkeley teammates in the semis (Brandon Hagly) and finals (Michael Weaver).

 2. NCAA Sweet 16 – Men’s Basketball (1997) ... Mack McCarthy’s No.14 Mocs upset No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16 before losing to No.10 Providence …Mocs had to beat Marshall 71-70 in OT to win the SoCon tourney and get the NCAA automatic berth.

 UTC 73 Georgia 70

Willie Young (24 pts.), Johnny Taylor (19) and Chris Mims (9 pts, 6 rebs) led the way … only 5th time that a No.14 beat a No.3 since field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 … Mocs shot 54.3% from the field

 UTC 75, Illinois 63 …Mims (12 pts, 12 rebs) led the way … Illini was up 52-45 with 13:14 remaining before Mocs rally … Mocs controlled the boards, 39-21 … shot 51.1% from the field.

 3. NCAA D-II National Champs – Mar. 19, 1977 … Golden, Gordon, Stich, McCray and company under coach Ron Shumate defeated Randolph-Macon, 71-62, in Springfield, Mass … Wayne Golden was tourney MVP and had 21 pts in final game … Gary Stich (14 pts, 12 rebs), William Gordon (16 pts.), Book McCray (13 pts.) ... The Mocs won 90 games in the four-year Golden-Gordon era.

4. Chattanooga 14, Tennessee, 6 …Nov. 8, 1958 … Johnny Green and Don Hill scored touchdowns and Bob Waller was good on both extra points for the historic win in Neyland Stadium … Mocs led in total offense, 247-138 and in first downs, 14-8 … UC students were given a holiday the following Monday.

5. Men’s Golf Team Ranked No.1 … Mocs were ranked No.1 in the nation in 2008 and again in 2009 with a freshman named Steven Fox … Mocs win SoCon title both years

6.  NCAA Region Win – Men’s Basketball (1982) …  Russ Shoene (15 pts., 7 rebs.) had a great game for the Mocs and was complemented by teammates Skip Clark (5 pts, 4 rebs. 4steals) and Willie White,(12 pts., 5 rebs.) Mocs defeated N.C. State, 58-51, Mar. 12 … Mocs were 27-4 and perfect at home ... program’s first NCAA D-I tourney win … UTC had won nine straight and 20 of 21 before losing to Minnesota, 62-61, in second round  ... Coach Murray Arnold sent Mocs to NCAAs three straight years, 1981-83 and won 98 games in four seasons (1981-84) … Mocs lost to Minnesota in the round of 32.

7 NCAA Region Win – Women’s Basketball (2004) … UTC rallies to beat Rutgers, 74-69, in McKenzie Arena in NCAA Region first round game before 6,000 fans … Mocs became the first SoCon team to win an NCAA playoff game … Katie Galloway (14 pts, 4 assts), Tiffani Roberson (15 pts, 10 rebs) led the Blue and Gold … Rutgers led by 11 in the first half …  Mocs (29-3) won 27 straight before losing to Vandy in the second round.

8 Charlie Heard (Wrestling) – NCAA D-I Runner-up (1983) … A three-time All-American …  1982 (7th), 1983 (2nd) 1984 (8th)  … led team to 14th place finish at NCAAs in ’83 … holds school record for wins in a season (41-1, 1984).

9. NCAA D-II Runner-up – Wrestling (1976) … Coach Jim Morgan had five All-Americans, including three national champions and were NCAA D-II national runners-up to Cal State Bakersfield and its coach Joe Seay (who would be UTC’s coach 40 years later in 2006), 92.5 to 88.5  … Randy Batten (118), Turner Jackson (156) and David Weeks (177) all claimed national championships … teammates John Kavelage (134, 3rd) and Tim Brennan (167, 6th) were also All-Americans … While William Gordon and Wayne Golden and the Mocs cagers were filling Big Mac on Saturday nights in the mid-1970s, Morgan’s wrestlers helped form an impressive one-two national powerhouse in the winter months for Chattanooga fans to rally around ... The wrestlers placed 3rd (1975), 2nd (1976) and 9th (1977) at the NCAA D-II nationals and lost only two dual meets in 1975-76 (34-2) before the program moved to D-I for the 1977-78 season.

10. Six-Time National Champions - Women’s Tennis ... AIAW (1977-78-79) … NCAA D-II (1983-84-85) … The Mocs won two AIAW small college titles (1977-78) under coach Alice Tym … coach Tommy Bartlett led UTC to an AIAW crown (1979) and three straight NCAA D-II championships (1983-84-85) … UTC had 23 All-Americans from 1977-1986.

11. NIT Quarterfinals – Men’s Basketball (1985) … Led by a come-from-behind road win at Lamar, the Southern Conference regular season champion Mocs advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT … The Mocs had lost a 71-69 (OT) thriller to VMI in the SoCon tourney semis, but bounced back to beat Clemson at home (67-65 before 8,000 fans) and then Lamar (85-84 OT) on the road before losing at Louisville

In the Lamar win, the Mocs trailed by seven with less than a minute to play before rallying to force overtime … and trailed in OT until the final eight seconds … Eugene Deal (11 pts, 10 rebs) and Gerald Wilkins (27 pts, 4 rebs, 4 assists) led the Mocs who shot 52.7% from the field … Lamar shot 56.5% and lost.

12. Scrappy Moore – College Football Hall of Fame (1980) … longtime Chattanooga football coach (1931-67) with a 170-149-14 record … won two Dixie Conference titles ... Mocs beat Tennessee, 14-6, in 1958 … inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

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