Like a lot of people, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Rusty Wright was caught off guard Wednesday afternoon when the news broke that Tennessee Tech will be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference to join the Southern Conference.
It had been a decade since the SoCon, which includes UTC, explored expansion of any kind — and that round of talks definitely wasn’t kept under wraps as the additions of East Tennessee State University, Mercer and Virginia Military Institute came on the heels of the exits of Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Davidson, Elon and Georgia Southern in 2013.
This time, the only thing happening in terms of SoCon expansion — as of now — is the addition of the Cookeville university to the league, a move set to officially take place on July 1, 2026.
Geographically, it’s a win for schools such as UTC, Mercer in Macon, Georgia, and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, which fall just a bit outside the primary footprint of a league that includes five schools that are pretty centrally located among conference members and in close proximity to one another: ETSU in Johnson City, Furman in Greenville, South Carolina, Western Carolina in Cullowhee, North Carolina, and Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, VMI in Lexington, and UNC Greensboro also fall outside of that proximity, but unlike UTC, Mercer and Samford, they’re no closer to Tennessee Tech.
What’s interesting is what could be next for the league. With the addition of the Golden Eagles, the SoCon will have 10 football-playing members (UNCG does not field a team), 11 men’s basketball programs and nine women’s basketball programs (The Citadel and VMI do not have teams).
UTC is approaching 50 years of SoCon membership, and Wright — who played football at UTC from 1992-95, had two stints as an assistant coach (1996-2002, 2013-16) and has been the head coach since the 2019 season — believes what’s good for the Golden Eagles is also good for the Mocs.
“It’s one less place we have to travel,” Wright said. “We’ve finally got another team on this side of the footprint, and that was always my deal whenever we talked about expansion, was we were top-heavy in the Carolinas and eastward, and then you’ve got us, Samford and Mercer sitting over here by ourselves.
“Tennessee Tech being in the league just makes it better for us.”
Tennessee Tech is just 98 miles from UTC, so it will become the Mocs’ easiest road trip in the league by far. And where football is concerned, it will offer the chance to strengthen an in-state rivalry with a return to, presumably, annual meetings. The Mocs, who lead the all-time series 30-10, will visit the Golden Eagles for a key nonconference game on Sept. 7, but that will be their first pairing since 2018 and just the eighth this century.
The addition of Tennessee Tech, which has been part of the OVC since 1949, brings a lot of promise to the SoCon in a lot of ways.
The Golden Eagles won a share of the OVC-Big South Football Association last year, and they are ranked 21st in the Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll. Tennessee Tech also advanced to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament for the 12th time this past season, which would rank second in the SoCon behind UTC’s 17 trips. The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball program has struggled in recent seasons, but it does have seven OVC regular-season championships in its history.
“This historic move changes the trajectory of our athletic aspirations and makes a statement to our campus and our community that Tech sports will be a part of a vibrant conference with new geographic rivalries,” Tennessee Tech athletic director Casey Fox said in a news release. “Our student-athletes and coaches will benefit from the reputation and competition the SoCon offers.”
Added SoCon commissioner Michael Cross: “Tennessee Tech athletics brings championship-caliber strength to the SoCon. Their recent success speaks for itself — a 2024 football championship and a preseason top-25 ranking this year, a women’s basketball program ranked 22nd all-time in Division I wins and consistent NCAA tournament appearances across multiple sports. With an 88% graduation success rate and strong APR scores, Tech proves that winning and academic achievement go hand-in-hand — the Southern Conference standard.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.