Shane Neal has held a second secret job — private investigator.
The former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball guard has been scouring Facebook and burning minutes on his phone in trying to contact as many former Mocs as possible.
More than 50 will attend some part of the UTC legends weekend, which began Friday night with a private party. The celebration of UTC basketball history will continue today and include a 4:30 meet-and-greet at the Chattem Practice Facility and a ceremony at halftime of the Mocs’ game against Elon.
“I found more people through Facebook than not,” Neal said. “It becomes a big web, because when you get one guy, he’ll have numbers for two or three more. It becomes a domino effect.”
The net result from the combined efforts of Neal, fellow alumni and the athletic department should be a memorable weekend for the players, young and experienced, and the fans who first crammed into Maclellan Gym to those now dribbling mini basketballs in a basement.
“One of the things that’s important to us is to get former coaches and student-athletes back as much as possible,” athletic director Rick Hart said. “I think this turnout is huge. Going back to football, we had guys stretched all the way across the field. It shows how much this program means to players both now and after they’re done.”
The list of participants in the weekend events includes legends from the Division II era, including former coach Leon Ford, to recent SoCon champions including Casey Long and every era in between.
“They’re the guys that built this program,” current coach John Shulman said. “You look up at the rafters and they’re the tradition. They all have things in common: They won here at Chattanooga and they hung banners, so they’re all going to converge.
“The people who built this program are coming back for a weekend. It makes it kind of awestruck.”
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