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Alumni News
- Athletics Hall of Fame inductees announced
- Memorial scholarship benefits from AT&T
- GOLD Mocs Connection
- Greek Show: Friday, February 26 in McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m.
Athletics Hall of Fame inductees announced
On Friday, February 12, the UTC Athletics Department and The Office of Alumni Affairs will host the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner at the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club. The 2009 Hall of Fame inductees will be honored and special award recipients will be recognized. Jim Reynolds, “Voice of the Mocs” will serve as the emcee. On Saturday evening, honorees will be recognized at halftime during the Mocs basketball game.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Hall of Fame was established to formally recognize outstanding contributions to the heritage and tradition of the University’s intercollegiate athletic program. During special ceremonies held annually, 171 individuals have been inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame during special ceremonies held each year.
The 2009 Hall of Fame inductees include Billie Abney, women’s tennis; Troy Boeck, football; Allison DeVries Harr, softball; Guy Harris, wrestling, Gary Stich, men’s basketball, and Kim Brown Suttles, women’s basketball. Lewie Card has been named the Gordon Davenport Award recipient and Mike Parker will receive the Joe Morrison Award. Current student and member of the Mocs football team, Joseph Thornton, will be recognized as the Scrappy Moore award recipient.
Billie Ann Abney
Women’s Tennis – 1974-77
Billie Ann Abney was an All-American tennis player for the Mocs from 1974-77. She was captain of Chattanooga’s first national championship team in 1977. Abney helped to lead UTC to the first of three consecutive AIAW Small College National titles that season.
A scholarship student-athlete at Chattanooga, Abney was also a member of Pi Beta Phi and was selected for the Homecoming Court. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health and Physical Education and went on to earn a second Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Logan College in St. Louis, Missouri. She also earned a Doctor of Chiropractic from Logan and is pursuing a Doctorate of Education through Walden University.
Abney is currently a teacher and member of the National Education Association, Georgia Association of Educators, Georgia Science Teachers Association and an award winner of the Teacher of Promise for the State of Georgia. She is also a member of the Georgia Chiropractic Association and a past board member of the G.C.A.
Allison (DeVries) Harr
Softball – 1996-99
Allison DeVries Harr was a three-time All-Southern Conference softball player for the Mocs from 1996-99. She finished her career among the leaders in numerous categories in the UTC record book and was named the 1999 Southern Conference Player of the Year.
During her senior season in 1999, DeVries batted .441, a mark that still stands as the top average for a season in school history. She also had a school-record .500 on-base percentage, 82 hits and 136 total bases. Her .731 slugging percentage and 24 doubles are both No. 2 on the Mocs’ single season list.
Known as one of the toughest players in program history, DeVries posted a .383 career batting average which is still No. 3 all-time at UTC. Her .446 on-base percentage is No. 2 in the Mocs’ record books while her .592 slugging percentage is fifth. She graduated as Chattanooga’s all-time leader in doubles (56), home runs (24), RBIs (167) and total bases (386) and still ranks in the top-3 in each of those categories.
She led the Lady Mocs to three regular season Southern Conference titles and three SoCon Tournament titles. Her senior season, the Lady Mocs posted a 48-18 overall record and were 16-0 in SoCon play during.
DeVries graduated with a degree in Sport Management in 1999 and is currently a Public Health Educator in the Chattanooga Hamilton County Health Department. She married Jason Harr in 2005 and they are proud parents of one-year-old Kaylee Harr.
Guy Harris
Wrestling – 1989-93
Guy Harris was a four-year letter winner and All-American for the Mocs wrestling team from 1990-93. He earned his All-American honor by finishing eighth at the 1992 NCAA Championships in the 142-pound class.
Harris was also a two-time Southern Conference Champion during his career for the Mocs. He won the 142-pound league title during his junior All-American campaign. He then moved up to 153 and won again as a senior in 1993.
Harris was a member of four-straight Southern Conference Championship teams from 1989 to 1993. The Mocs twice finished in the top-30 at the NCAA Championships while he was on the team. UTC was 28th at the national tournament in both 1991 and 1992. Chattanooga was 31-22 in dual meets during his career.
Harris graduated from UTC in 1993 with a degree in Business Economics. He is currently a sales manager with Certified Maintenance Service in Chattanooga. He and his wife, Mary, who is also a UTC graduate, have three children, McKenzie (16), Hannah (14) and Noah (8).
Gary Stich
Men’s Basketball – 1974-77
Gary Stich was a gritty, four-year letter winner for the Mocs basketball team from 1974-77. He was a starting post-player on both the Mocs’ NCAA Division II National Championship team in 1977 and the runner-up squad in 1976.
Stich averaged 12.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game during the 1976-77 championship season. He played in 31 of the Mocs’ 32 games that season, shooting 52.8% from the field and helped guide Chattanooga to a 27-5 record. For his career, the 6-8 forward from Louisville, Ken., averaged 9.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg while his teams posted a 90-28 record over four years.
Following his time with the Mocs, Stich went on to a successful professional basketball career in Europe. He played in both Finland and Switzerland, and has lived in Switzerland since 1978. He started working for Abnamro Bank in 1987, but still stayed involved with professional basketball as a player and coach. In October 2007, he became the oldest person to score in an A-League game in Switzerland when he hit two free throws in 4.5 minutes of action for Vacallo at the age of 52.
Stich majored in Business Education during his career at UTC and is a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. He is currently an Incident Manager for IBM in Morbio Inferiore, Switzerland. He and his wife, Manuela, have two children, Michelle (17) and Michael (15).
Troy Boeck
Football – 1987-90
Troy Boeck is one of the most decorated defensive players in UTC football history and is one of just three Mocs to be named Southern Conference Player of the Year. The 6-3, defensive end from Evans, Georgia, was a four-year letter winner at Chattanooga from 1987-90.
Boeck was named the 1990 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches after posting 87 tackles during his senior season. That same season, he earned All-American honors from both the Associated Press and the Sporting News.
Team captain as a senior, Boeck guided the Mocs to a 6-5 record and a third place finish in the Southern Conference. He led the team with six sacks while posting 73 tackles and earning All-SoCon honors as a junior.
He started all 44 games of his career and finished with 276 tackles and 12 sacks. He is No. 8 on the Mocs’ career tackles list and ranks seventh on the all-time sack list. Boeck was a two-time All-SoCon selection. He was named the Mocs’ most valuable defensive lineman his junior and senior seasons and won the team’s Iron Man Award as a junior.
Boeck graduated from UTC in 1991 with a degree in Business Administration. He is currently the head football coach at Marion County High School in Jasper, Tennessee. Boeck is married to former Lady Mocs women’s basketball player Karin Beightol. The couple has two children, Emily (11) and Ty (9).
Kim (Brown) Suttles
Women’s Basketball – 1987-90
Kim Brown Suttles was a four-time All-Southern Conference women’s basketball player at Chattanooga from 1990-93. She finished her career tied for No. 2 on the all-time scoring list in Lady Mocs history with 1,909 career points. She also was a part of UTC’s first two women’s basketball teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
As a true freshman, Brown saw action in four games before an injury ended her season early. She redshirted the remaining part of the 1988-89 season as the Lady Mocs made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.
The next season, Brown was a second team All-SoCon selection, averaging 16.5 points-per-game. The last three years of her career, Brown was a first team All-SoCon honoree, averaging 16.9 ppg as a sophomore, 15.8 ppg as a junior and 18.0 ppg as a senior.
The Lady Mocs went 20-8 during her sophomore season in 1991, including 8-2 in the SoCon to win the league’s regular season title. Brown led Chattanooga back to the NCAA Tournament during her junior year, posting an 18-12 overall mark and 8-2 in SoCon play. Brown was named the SoCon Tournament MVP that year, guiding Chattanooga to its fifth tournament title and second NCAA Tournament appearance.
Brown graduated from UTC in 1993 with a degree in Computer Science. She is currently a System Analyst with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. She is married to Chad Suttles, a UTC alumnus, and the couple has three children, Kiara (13), Kaiyana (9) and Chad, Jr. (6).
Gordon Davenport Award
Joseph Lewis “Lewie” Card
The Gordon Davenport Award is given annually by the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame to a person who has shown outstanding commitment to the Chattanooga Mocs athletics program. This year’s recipient of the Gordon Davenport Award is Lewie Card.
Card is the vice-chairman/secretary of the Card-Monroe Corporation in Hixson, Tennessee, and has been a strong supporter of the Mocs for many years. He has served as a board member of the University of Tennessee Development Council and on the executive committee of the University of Chattanooga Foundation. Card was named the 2006 recipient of the UTC Alumni Board’s Outstanding Service Award.
Among his many charitable involvements with UTC and Mocs athletics, Card most recently spearheaded the men’s and women’s golf facility, The Player Development Complex. Situated on 28 acres, the complex sets a new standard in the golf learning center experience. Anchored by its 10-acre, double-sided practice range, the facility will boast four auxiliary short game practice areas, a three-hole practice course and a dedicated practice area for the Chattanooga’s nationally-ranked men’s and women’s golf teams.
Joe Morrison Award
Mike Parker
Men’s Tennis/Wrestling – 1970-73
The Joe Morrison Award is given annually by the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame to a former student-athlete or coach for notable accomplishments and life experiences. This year’s recipient of the Joe Morrison Award is former Mocs wrestler, tennis player and National Wrestling Hall of Famer Mike Parker.
Parker graduated from UTC in 1973 with a degree in Geology and is currently a sales representative with Top Flight Inc. in Chattanooga. He was also a very successful tennis and wrestling coach at the prep level after his playing career at Chattanooga.
He guided the East Ridge High School wrestling team to the state title in 1975 where five individuals also won state crowns. Parker has also served as a wrestling official since 1980. He has been the co-Director of the T.S.S.A.A. state wrestling tournament since 1997 and was instrumental in bringing the tournament to Chattanooga for many years.
Parker was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008 and is a charter member of the Chattanooga Takedown Club. As a tennis enthusiast, Parker holds multiple USTA city, state and southern titles.
Scrappy Moore Award
Joseph Thornton
Football - Senior
The A.C. “Scrappy” Moore Award is presented to a current UTC student-athlete who best personifies the athletic department’s mission of comprehensive excellence, academically, athletically and socially. This year’s recipient of the Joe Morrison Award is football senior Joseph Thornton.
Thornton was an All-Southern Conference linebacker for the Mocs during the 2009 season. He helped to lead Chattanooga to a 6-5 record and the one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in school history. He led the team in tackles for the second straight season, totaling 95 during his senior year.
Thornton was the Mocs’ recipient of the Coleman-Lew Leadership Award in 2009, an honor given to a male and female student-athlete based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement. A criminal justice major, he has earned spots on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the Dean’s List for his work in the classroom throughout his career.
Thornton is also very active in the community, volunteering at many events throughout Chattanooga. He has worked several camps, clinics and other activities in the city, serving the youth of Chattanooga.Memorial scholarship benefits from AT&T
As part of its $3.5 million commitment toward improving education, AT&T recently made a $10,000.00 contribution to The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Alumni Council’s Jimmy Jackson Memorial Scholarship. State representative Gerald McCormick announced the gift to the UTC Alumni Board of Directors at their annual retreat and the check was presented in a ceremony on campus.
“We are thrilled and very appreciative of the support AT&T is providing for our deserving students,” said UTC Chancellor Roger Brown.
UTC juniors and seniors who maintain excellent academic work and are involved on campus and in the community can benefit from the scholarship fund, established by the late Jimmy Jackson in 1993. Jackson, UTC Class of 1969, served as President of the UTC Alumni Council as well as The University of Tennessee Alumni Association.
AT&T’s philanthropic priorities include improving education and promoting student retention.
Front row, l to r - Kim McCormick, alumni board member; Dean Jackson, Jimmy's widow; MaryStewart Lewis, AT&T; Mary Thompson, alumni board member; State Representative Gerald McCormick.
Second row, l to r - Scott LeRoy, alumni board member; Chancellor Roger Brown; Mike Purcell, alumni board president; and Tom Losh, alumni board member.
GOLD Mocs Connection
As young alumni begin their careers, the GOLD Mocs Connection provides a good time to work the professional network and reconnect with former UTC students. Join graduates from the last ten years on the last Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. to see college friends while also meeting new friends who can help strengthen a professional (and social) network.
Kino Becton (2003, 2008), UTC Alumni Board Member and former SGA President, enjoyed the January Gold Mocs Connection, calling it an "awesome networking event that truly showcased the diversity and talent UTC produces yearly!"
February 23 will be the date of the next monthly GOLD Mocs Connection at Crust Pizza’s Broad Street location and in March it will be held at Taco Mamacita on the Northshore.
The January GOLD Mocs Connection, held at The Terminal, impressed Marin Rieman (2007).
“Usually events like these are ones I elect not to attend, but after going to the one at The Terminal I have realized what a great opportunity it actually was. If only we can figure out a way to convince everyone who thinks like I did that it is worth a try. Can’t wait until the next event!” Rieman said.
Nathan Frazier (2005) also enjoyed the evening, saying it was a “great networking opportunity.”
“The time frame was perfect so that we could get to know a little more [about those there] than just what is on their business card. I cannot wait until the next one and hopefully it will be as successful.”
Remember to bring business cards to exchange and to drop off in our door prize jar. For more information, visit utcgold.com or call 423/425-4785.
Greek Show: February 26 in McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m.
The Greek Show gives fraternities and sororities a chance to show their school spirit and raise money to support relief efforts in Haiti. The event will be held Friday, February 26, 7 p.m. in the McKenzie Arena.
Each organization has 12 minutes to entertain and they will be judged on originality, costume design, set design/props, performance, and school spirit.
“I believe that people are always trying to find ways to help out people who are less fortunate than us, and this show is a great way to do that. You will be very entertained and get to experience the school spirit and the excitement that Greek Organizations have on this campus,” said Colton Sadler, IFC Greek Show Chair.
Awards will be given to the "Best Fraternity,” "Best Sorority,” and the "Spirit Award" which is for the fraternity/sorority who raises the most money.
Funds raised at the Greek show will benefit the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti, a locally based nonprofit founded by cardiologist Dr. Mitch Mutter. The mission of his organization is to provide care to the children in Leogane, an area which has been devastated by the earthquake. Before the earthquake, the organization helped teach mothers how to provide proper nutrition for their children using local foods. Poor nutrition and lack of clean water make it difficult for children to make it to their fifth birthdays.
Tickets for the Greek show will be sold February 22-25 in the University Center from 10 a.m. – 3.p.m. Tickets are $3 in advance and $5 at the door. Everyone is invited.
Sadler said funds will also be raised through an advertisement booklet given out at the show. The deadline for submission is February 16. For advertising information contact Lindsey Jones at Lindsey-Jones@utc.edu.
For more information on the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti, visit http://www.cnphaiti.org/ .
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