Fans cheer during the Southern Scuffle wrestling tournament finals.
The Southern Scuffle set an attendance record for the second straight day, drawing 2,856 fans.
The lower section, minus the end zone seats on either end, was full of wrestling fans Wednesday night, giving the tournament a record two-day total of 5,399. Last year’s tournament drew a total of 4,373.
“We broke the attendance mark sometime this morning,” said Matt Pope, senior associate athletic director for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Pope wasn’t busting buttons with pride, but he was extremely happy with the Mocs’ decision to take over the tournament after the 2011 season when former host UNC Greensboro dropped its wrestling program. He was no happier than Mocs coach Heath Eslinger.
“This tells me we can grow this into the best event in the country,” he said.