The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program chose education over football in the spring of 2021.
The Mocs turned their back on the sanctity of playing football, in a spring season that has already been largely forgotten by most, to ensure not only the health and safety of its players but to watch no fewer than 11 players graduate in May and for the program to collectively post a 3.107 grade-point average, its third consecutive semester of having at least a 3.0 – a school record.
Some UTC fans understood when the Mocs – who were 3-0 in Southern Conference play and ranked ninth in the country – sat 21 of 22 starters and played inexperienced players, including an all-freshman offensive line, in what turned into a 35-28 loss to Mercer. A lot didn’t, and expressed that frustration. Opposing fanbases coined the phrase “Chattaquitta” two days later when the team opted out of the remaining four conference games against Samford, Western Carolina, East Tennessee State and Virginia Military Institute – a game that had previously been postponed due to COVID within the UTC program.
Yet, the product they showed in wins over Wofford, The Citadel and Furman was enough for both the SoCon coaches and media to rank the Mocs first in the preseason polls, with practice starting Aug. 4 at Scrappy Moore Field.
Is there more pressure to win now? After all, this is the season that was always the focus of head coach Rusty Wright, who never bought into the spring football concept.