Stephen has covered sports in the tri-state area for the Times Free Press for more than 26 years and was named Sports Editor in February of 2015 after 10 years as assistant sports editor, where he oversaw the prep sports staff. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP newsroom, having won 54 awards at the state, regional and national level ranging from investigative work to feature and news writing, including 22 awards in the past three years. Stephen was named one of the top 10 sports writers in the nation at the Associated Press Sports Editors' conference in Kissimmee Fla., in 2012, and has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists with Green Eyeshade southeast regional awards three times, where his work was noted for its high standards of ethical journalism. He received an Associated Press national award for a season-long story following the Taft Youth Center football team, became the first writer from the TFP staff to win first-place as the state's top overall sports writer by the Associated Press Media Editors and has also been named the state's overall Writer of the Year three times in the past four years. He has been awarded the state's top prep writer a record 18 times, including each of the past six years, is the first writer on the TFP staff to win the prestigious Lawrenceburg Quarterback Club's Sports Writer of the Year and was recognized with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award for Contributor of the Year in the state. He is also a regular contributor previewing and highlighting prep football on local television. In 2013, Stephen co-authored a book about University of Tennessee football entitled "Game Of My Life". Stephen is a lifelong Chattanooga area resident and has two children, Riley and Lauren.
The tornadoes that swept through the Chattanooga area on April 12 destroyed homes, businesses and lives. Grace Baptist Academy was among the structures that were damaged beyond repair.
by Stephen HargisThe TSSAA and the GHSA have released official guidelines for the return of offseason workouts for all of their sanctioned sports, including football, as the nation begins to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
by Stephen Hargis and Lindsey YoungFor more than a decade, Chattanooga has produced some of the top high school track talent in the state.
by Stephen HargisIt was a softball foundation built on sand. But it became the rare example that such a normally unsettled base could remain solid enough to weather any storm.
by Stephen HargisMark Price, who has had a history of success at every level of his career, has been named the new athletic director for Baylor School.
by Stephen HargisThe week before Memorial Day has been highlighted by the Spring Fling for more than 25 years.
by Stephen HargisAlthough prep football coaches in Tennessee and Georgia are anxious to begin offseason workouts, or at least have a statewide guideline in place for all teams to follow, their state athletic associations have forced them to pump the brakes.
by Stephen Hargis and Lindsey YoungLooking to continue to close the gap on the state's largest class of Division II competition, Chattanooga Christian School has hired Tony Decker as its first full-time strength and conditioning coach.
by Stephen HargisWhether he considers himself a trendsetter or not, Elijah Howard was certainly ahead of the curve.
by Stephen HargisRed Bank High School has named Kevin Wilson as its new girls' basketball coach.
by Stephen HargisIn just more than four months, high school football season is scheduled to kick off across Tennessee, bringing with it the return of a much-needed sense of normalcy.
by Stephen HargisSouth Pittsburg's football program has replaced one proven defensive whiz — with a pedigree as a successful former head coach — with another who boasts similar credentials.
by Stephen HargisThe Chattanooga area is well represented in all three classifications of the Tennessee Sports Writer Association's all-state wrestling teams this year.
by Stephen HargisBy the end of one of the best seasons in program history, the decision was all but made in Bailey McGinnis' mind.
by Stephen HargisFour Chattanooga area players are among those selected to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's boys' basketball all-state team.
by Stephen HargisA total of 10 girls' basketball players from the Chattanooga area have earned all-state recognition by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.
by Stephen HargisIt was a spring sports season that never even got out of the starting blocks.
by Stephen HargisThe flicker of hope for having high school sports return to the area's playing fields this spring has been extinguished.
by Stephen HargisAfter a career that spanned four decades, Doug Armstrong decided it was time to step away. Armstrong announced his decision Monday, retiring as boys' basketball coach and athletic director at McMinn Central, where he spent the last 29 of his 40-year career.
by Stephen HargisOn what would have been the first of two days of practice rounds for the Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred S. Ridley announced a new date for the annual event.
by Stephen Hargis