TIME CHANGEUTC’s game against Elon at McKenzie Arena today has been moved up three hours to 3 p.m. because of the anticipated inclement weather in the area.
There’s nothing unusual about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team leading the Southern Conference in attendance. That’s been going on for years.
What could be unusual come the SoCon tournament in March is having locals in the stands at McKenzie Arena cheering against the Lady Mocs (7-8, 4-2 SoCon), who host Elon (8-5, 3-2) today.
At the start of the season, the SoCon initiated an Adopt-A-Class program involving the 11 conference teams and 22 elementary school classes in Hamilton County. Each team has adopted two classes and is interacting with them throughout the season.
“We’re excited about it and the reaction that we’ve gotten through the Hamilton County Department of Education has been very positive,” SoCon commissioner John Iamarino said.
Come tournament time, the local students will receive vouchers for free admission to a tournament game and root on their adopted team. That means some local students will be cheering against their hometown Lady Mocs.
“It’s something they’re trying to do to promote attendance, especially for the early games, but I think we’ll still be represented OK in the stands,” said UTC coach Wes Moore, whose team has adopted a second grade class at Apison Elementary and a fourth grade class at Red Bank Elementary.
Wofford coach Edgar Farmer said he’s all for the program because it’s helping grow the game.
“Just imagine when you adopt two classes and you get them in here [on top of the Lady Mocs’ usual strong attendance], it’s going to be special,” Farmer said.
Farmer’s team has adopted a fourth grade class at Rivermont Elementary and a kindergarten class at Clifton Hills. He described the program as like “having a pen pal.” Each side writes back and forth and “you’re running to the mailbox” to see if you got something.
“It is a shame those poor young minds are being led astray,” Moore joked about the students who weren’t adopted by the Lady Mocs.
So far this season, UTC has averaged 1,926 fans at its seven home games. Georgia Southern is the second-highest in the SoCon at 652 per game.