In this 2013 staff file photo, Mike Royster, UTC’s assistant athletic director for facilities and equipment, talks in his office to a Times Free Press reporter in Chattanooga, Tenn. / Staff file photoMike Royster will still find himself around University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football games and quite possibly, just around campus generally this fall.
But his role will have changed.
Royster, who has worked in UTC’s athletic department for 47 years, announced his retirement – effective June 30 – on Tuesday. The university also announced the Mike Royster Student Equipment Manager Endowed Scholarship, which will “directly benefit our student managers, who have been under Mike’s guidance throughout his career at UTC,” according to athletic director Mark Wharton.
“It is a bittersweet moment for all of us,” Wharton said in a news release. “We hate to see him go, but we are excited for the opportunity for him to spend more time with his family. Mike is an institution in himself and one of the most recognizable figures in the history of our program. He has been a leader in our industry and an invaluable member of UTC athletics for years.
“His legacy is set in stone.”