Beaming from ear to ear, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic director Mark Wharton stood in a corner of McKenzie Arena last Thursday during halftime of the Mocs' narrow basketball win over Mercer. Only the object of his happiness this particular night had little to do with the game, but rather the 201 UTC student-athletes who were recognized at that time for earning a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the fall semester.
To make such news even better, 40 of those athletes earned a perfect 4.0 or better for that semester and 40 also earned spots on the Southern Conference's all-academic team for fall-sports athletes, which beat the previous record of 36 receiving that honor in 2010.
"I couldn't be more proud," said Wharton, now in his second year as AD. "It's a huge credit to our coaches and academic support staff. Two out of every three athletes posted a 3.0 or higher last semester. When our coaches are sitting in living rooms telling recruits and their parents that these young people will graduate and play their sport at the NCAA's highest level, we have pretty strong statistics to back that up."
It should be the mission of every college at every level of the NCAA. Forget slipping the players a few bucks here and there or getting them out of a speeding ticket or two. Passing them through college with bogus courses or looking the other way enough times to keep them eligible to win games is easily the worst offense any college can be found guilty of regarding its student-athletes.
Yet UTC, despite its long history of limited resources and overworked faculty, almost never has shown a hint of such despicable behavior.
Whether it was the late Mary Tinkler, the under-appreciated but crucial work Laura Herron continues to do each day in so many roles within the athletic department, former coordinator of student support services Lisa Tarr or current head of the Academic Enhancement Center, Dr. Emily Blackman, the school almost always has seemed to do more with less than anyone around.
And to listen to wrestler Jake Huffine, who won this year's Dayle May Award for academic excellence on the male side for having a perfect 4.0 in the double major of accounting and finance, the people teaching those athletes deserve much credit as well.
"The support I've received from professors, especially in the College of Business, has been amazing," Huffine said last Thursday before he and female Dayle May recipient Catherine Meyer were honored during the second half of the UTC-Mercer game.
"They were always so helpful. They came to my aid any time I needed it."
And the class he needed the most aid in?
"Intermediate Accounting II with Dr. (John) Trussel," Huffine replied. "Most challenging by far. He makes you work for it."
Huffine, who grew up in Cartersville, Georgia, isn't just an outstanding student. He's worked harder than most to leave his mark on the wrestling mat. After patiently waiting his turn for three years at 133 pounds, he's gone 16-9 so far in his final season, including six wins by pin.
Yet ask him his favorite athletic moment to date and he recalls the morning after a loss last season at North Carolina State rather than a victory.
"We got destroyed," he said. "The next morning, we were running sprints at the hotel at 6 in the morning (under former coach Heath Eslinger). But there was something great about it, just knowing we were there for each other."
Meyer came to UTC three years ago from Hendersonville, Tennessee, as a highly regarded soccer player. To prove that reputation justified, during her redshirt freshman season the first two goals she scored were both game-winners. She graduates with a psychology degree and a minor in business. Her next goal is to get an MBA in industrial psychology.
When she learned a week or so ago that she'd won the Dayle May award, "I called my parents (Marilyn and Chris Meyer). I've worked so hard to have the (4.0) GPA I do. I've always valued academics. I really feel like I've gotten the most I could out of UTC."
The single professor she says she'll remember most is Dr. Svetlana Chesser.
"We worked together researching what causes political identities to form in college-age students," she said.
Not every student-athlete will rise to the level of achievement of Huffine and Meyer or those 38 other bright and focused young people who wound up with a perfect 4.0 for the fall term.
Still, as Meatloaf once sang, two out of three reaching a 3.0 or better ain't bad, even if every honor roll student from the beginning of time knows the recording artist should have used "isn't bad" instead.
As he stood courtside last week, more than 200 of the school's student-athletes being warmly cheered for their schoolwork, Wharton said he often reminds his coaches and support staff that the real reason they have the jobs they do is to "supply these kids with a world-class experience in both academics and athletics."
And while UTC certainly has had its share of success in sports over the years, providing a world-class environment for classroom success is what best will serve the Mocs during the rest of their lives.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com