UTC athletic director wishes Tom Arth well; search for replacement underway

Head football coach leaves Mocs after two seasons

UTC football coach Tom Arth congratulates UTC linebacker Ty Boeck during a home game against Wofford on Oct. 6.
UTC football coach Tom Arth congratulates UTC linebacker Ty Boeck during a home game against Wofford on Oct. 6.

Tom Arth left his home state after a successful run as a Division III coach at his alma mater.

After two seasons at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the Football Championship Subdivision, he's headed back to Ohio to join the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks.

photo Tom Arth is leaving UTC to become the football coach at Akron.

Days shy of the two-year mark since he was hired to lead the Mocs, Arth agreed to become the head coach at the University of Akron.

Sources told the Times Free Press of Arth's impending departure Friday, and Akron later posted a release on its official athletic website saying he had been named the Zips' head coach, pending approval by the university's board of trustees. Akron plans to introduce Arth as the 28th head coach in program history during a news conference Monday.

"We are excited to welcome Tom Arth to The University of Akron," school athletic director Larry Williams said in the release. "Tom's experience in leading two programs, his ties to Northeast Ohio, his tremendous football IQ, and his passion for developing student-athletes for their future endeavors made him the perfect candidate to elevate our program."

The Akron job became open Dec. 2 when Terry Bowden was dismissed after seven seasons at the school. Bowden led the program to two bowl bids and the 2017 Mid-American Conference East Division championship but was 35-52 overall with the Zips.

photo UTC athletic director Mark Wharton

Arth, 37, is originally from Westlake, Ohio, about 50 miles west of Akron. He played at John Carroll - a D-III program in University Heights, about 40 miles south of Akron - and later coached the Blue Streaks from 2013 to '16, compiling a 40-8 record and leading them to their first Ohio Athletic Conference championship since 1989 in his final season.

He was 9-13 in two seasons with the Mocs.

UTC vice chancellor and athletic director Mark Wharton released a statement regarding Arth's exit on Friday.

"Earlier this evening Coach Arth informed me of his intention to resign from UTC and become the head coach at the University of Akron," Wharton said. "Coach Arth and his staff did an outstanding job during his two seasons with the Mocs. This is a great opportunity for him to further his career close to his hometown. We wish him and his family nothing but the best.

"We have already begun the search for a replacement and the work our student-athletes and staff have done has attracted an outstanding candidate pool. We plan to work diligently to make sure we identify the best person to lead Chattanooga Football.

"Coach Arth has fostered a culture of success in the classroom, in competition and in the community, and we look forward to welcoming the next individual to continue the upward trajectory of Chattanooga football."

Arth's tenure at John Carroll was highlighted by a win over Division III powerhouse Mount Union, ending the latter's 112-game regular-season winning streak.

Arth went 3-8 during his first season at UTC, which was highlighted by a 23-21 road win over then-No. 8 Samford, sparking a string of six wins in a seven-game span that bled into the 2018 season.

The Mocs started Arth's final season 4-0, with the fourth win also against the Bulldogs and pushing the Mocs into the FCS top 25 rankings the following week. They struggled down the stretch, with two wins over their final six games.

The Mocs finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference despite outscoring their opposition for the season. Three of their losses were by six or fewer points, and only one of their defeats was by more than 11 points - 49-9 at South Carolina to close the season.

photo Tom Arth watches UTC's football game at Western Carolina on Oct. 13.

Offensive inefficiency was the root cause of the team's struggles in both seasons under Arth, with the Mocs ranking near the bottom of the SoCon in that regard while ranking near the top in most defensive categories. UTC was 25th in the country in total defense in 2017 and currently ranks 15th in points allowed at an average of 21 points per game.

The Mocs ran the same amount of plays in 2018 as they did in 2017 (702), but they gained 850 more yards in 2018 and had five more touchdowns. They ranked 91st in the country in total offense this season and failed to reach 30 points in seven of their final eight games.

Arth became the 23rd head coach in Mocs football history when his hire was announced on Dec. 19, 2016. He succeeded Russ Huesman, a UTC alum who left to take over at Richmond after eight seasons in charge at his alma mater.

The terms of Arth's contract state that because he's leaving prior to Dec. 31 of this year, he owes UTC two times his base salary of $185,000.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.

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