FROM UTC's WEBSITE.....
"Has there ever been a better time to be a Moc? That question has been posed all over the Scenic City the last three years. Southern Conference titles, record attendance and unprecedented academic success have all raised the level of excitement for athletics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
None of this has occurred by accident or happenstance. It is the culmination of extremely hard work by a very talented group of student-athletes, coaches and support staff, under the leadership of Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics David Blackburn.
Hired on April 20, 2013, Blackburn quickly instilled a new mission that focused on equipping the entire athletics department for success, while accompanying a vision of achieving excellence. It is clear that both messages have been received in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
The 2015-16 season saw the Mocs become the first in the more than 100-year history of the Southern Conference win the football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball championships in the same year. UTC also won titles in volleyball and wrestling, while leading the SoCon in attendance in football and men’s and women’s basketball for the second year in a row.
UTC saw continued excellence in the football program with its third-straight SoCon title in 2015. UTC advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the second time, while the men’s basketball team was back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
Volleyball had its best season in nearly two decades, while women’s basketball and wrestling continued to dominate the league. All totaled, the Mocs have brought home a SoCon-leading 21 regular season and tournament titles in all sports over the last three years.
Blackburn has also turned heads with his impressive head coaching hires. When he took over in 2013, he had the unique situation of filling vacancies in both men’s and women’s basketball. By all accounts, he nailed each hire with Will Wade and Jim Foster.
Foster has won three-straight SoCon titles and has had the women’s program ranked in the top 25 over the last three seasons. Wade turned around the men’s team and parlayed that into the head coaching position at VCU.
Blackburn quickly snagged Florida assistant Matt McCall who was the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2016, leading UTC to 29 wins in this first season. He also hired Gavin McKinney in 2015 to take over the women’s soccer program.
In the classroom, UTC student-athletes set a school record for semester grade-point-average with a 3.113 in the fall. Overall, student-athletes at UTC have posted a 3.0 or higher for five straight terms after hitting the mark for the first time in spring of 2014. UTC had record numbers of student-athletes on the Academic All-SoCon teams in 2015, while eight programs beat the national average for APR scores in 2015-16.
The Chattanooga community has also taken note of what is happening at UTC. The Mocs have led the SoCon in attendance in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling each of the last two seasons. The Southern Scuffle has also grown into the top in-season wrestling tournament in the nation, while softball continues to enjoy a strong following.
All of this success came as no surprise, based on the experiences and expertise Blackburn brought to the position. He spent the previous two decades in a number of administrative roles at the University of Tennessee. He most recently served as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration where he was member of the Volunteers’ executive staff.
A native of Loudon, Tenn., Blackburn is married to the former Andrea Radel of Albion, Mich. They have two daughters, Emma, who is currently a sophomore at UTC, and Charlee. He is a 1990 graduate of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Education."
http://www.gomocs.com/staff.aspx?staff=239
"Has there ever been a better time to be a Moc? That question has been posed all over the Scenic City the last three years. Southern Conference titles, record attendance and unprecedented academic success have all raised the level of excitement for athletics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
None of this has occurred by accident or happenstance. It is the culmination of extremely hard work by a very talented group of student-athletes, coaches and support staff, under the leadership of Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics David Blackburn.
Hired on April 20, 2013, Blackburn quickly instilled a new mission that focused on equipping the entire athletics department for success, while accompanying a vision of achieving excellence. It is clear that both messages have been received in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
The 2015-16 season saw the Mocs become the first in the more than 100-year history of the Southern Conference win the football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball championships in the same year. UTC also won titles in volleyball and wrestling, while leading the SoCon in attendance in football and men’s and women’s basketball for the second year in a row.
UTC saw continued excellence in the football program with its third-straight SoCon title in 2015. UTC advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the second time, while the men’s basketball team was back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
Volleyball had its best season in nearly two decades, while women’s basketball and wrestling continued to dominate the league. All totaled, the Mocs have brought home a SoCon-leading 21 regular season and tournament titles in all sports over the last three years.
Blackburn has also turned heads with his impressive head coaching hires. When he took over in 2013, he had the unique situation of filling vacancies in both men’s and women’s basketball. By all accounts, he nailed each hire with Will Wade and Jim Foster.
Foster has won three-straight SoCon titles and has had the women’s program ranked in the top 25 over the last three seasons. Wade turned around the men’s team and parlayed that into the head coaching position at VCU.
Blackburn quickly snagged Florida assistant Matt McCall who was the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2016, leading UTC to 29 wins in this first season. He also hired Gavin McKinney in 2015 to take over the women’s soccer program.
In the classroom, UTC student-athletes set a school record for semester grade-point-average with a 3.113 in the fall. Overall, student-athletes at UTC have posted a 3.0 or higher for five straight terms after hitting the mark for the first time in spring of 2014. UTC had record numbers of student-athletes on the Academic All-SoCon teams in 2015, while eight programs beat the national average for APR scores in 2015-16.
The Chattanooga community has also taken note of what is happening at UTC. The Mocs have led the SoCon in attendance in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling each of the last two seasons. The Southern Scuffle has also grown into the top in-season wrestling tournament in the nation, while softball continues to enjoy a strong following.
All of this success came as no surprise, based on the experiences and expertise Blackburn brought to the position. He spent the previous two decades in a number of administrative roles at the University of Tennessee. He most recently served as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration where he was member of the Volunteers’ executive staff.
A native of Loudon, Tenn., Blackburn is married to the former Andrea Radel of Albion, Mich. They have two daughters, Emma, who is currently a sophomore at UTC, and Charlee. He is a 1990 graduate of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Education."
http://www.gomocs.com/staff.aspx?staff=239
