Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Mocs head coach Rusty Wright argues a call at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Rusty Wright spent most of the past seven-plus months trying to keep his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team on the field and progressing toward what the unexpected.
The Southern Conference had canceled the fall portion of the schedule with hopes of playing an eight-game season in the spring, with the Football Championship Subdivision expecting to play a 16-team playoff. Each week Wright implored the players to stay focused on their goals.
But in the process, life happened. Academic schedules are made in the fall, with football players normally scheduling fewer hours in the first semester than in the spring. A lot of the UTC football players – over a dozen expecting to graduate this spring – had heavy class schedules in the spring.
On Monday, the combination of academic classload and concern for the unknown toll that could be inflicted on players bodies from potentially playing as many as 19 combined games this spring and fall, led “around 30” players – according to university sources to opt out of the remaining spring season.
Wright announced Monday afternoon that the Mocs spring season is officially over, the team finishing with a 3-2 overall record, 3-1 in the Southern Conference.