Tennessee center Isabelle Harrison, left, talks with Tennessee coach Holly Warlick during the celebration of their win over Kentucky in the finals of the Women’s Southeastern Conference tournament.Absence apparently has made the heart grow fonder when it comes to Southeastern Conference women’s basketball and Chattanooga.
SEC assistant commissioner Leslie Claybrook, who oversees the women’s basketball tournament, has held discussions with Chattanooga Sports Committee president Tim Morgan and UTC athletic director David Blackburn about the tournament’s return to McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga hosted seven of the eight SEC tournaments from 1993 to 2000, providing a total economic impact of $10.91 million according to Sports Committee figures.
The earliest McKenzie could be available again for the SEC women would be 2017. The installation of several video boards would be the big hurdle between now and then.
“Many of our coaches and administrators who work specifically in women’s basketball and played in Chattanooga remember the atmosphere that was in the arena and also the buzz that was around the city,” Claybrook said. “They are interested in perhaps revisiting Chattanooga to see if that can be re-created.”
In 1992 the sixth SEC women’s tournament held in Albany, Ga., had a total attendance of 12,318. The 1999 tournament at McKenzie had a total attendance of 43,221, highlighted by a sold-out semifinal session at the 11,218-seat facility, and 41,185 attended in 2000.