Mocs on the Mic

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth moves into the next season with a look at wrestling. Head coach Kyle Ruschell previews the Mocs upcoming season and the Blue and Gold match this Saturday at First Horizon Pavilion.   The Chattanooga Mocs wrestling program is headed back to one of its favorite haunts. The grapplers are back at Finley Stadium Sa...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth checks in with soccer head coach Gavin McKinney and Director of Volleyball Julie Torbett on the progress of their seasons. Coach Torbet earned her 500th career head coaching victory last week against Furman. The Mocs are 15-6 on the year and starting Southern Conference play at 3-3. The Mocs got off to their best s...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic, men’s golf head coach and senior Sam Espinosa talk with host Chris Goforth on the team accomplishments so far and this year’s schedule.   The Mocs are off to a hot start. The guys captured wins at Marquette and Cincinnati to make it six in the 15 tournaments of the Blaine Woodruff era.   Samuel Espinosa claimed his first win as a Moc at Erin Hill...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth gets an early look at the upcoming season for men’s and women’s basketball.   Women’s head coach Shawn Poppie, in his second season, previews the 2023-24 schedule that features a home contest against SEC foe Mississippi State and tournaments in Florida and North Carolina. The Mocs claimed the 2023 SoCon Tournament t...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth catches up with Torrez Finney. Finney, a former Chattanooga football player and wrestler, turned his focus towards mixed martial arts. He is headed to Las Vegas next month for a UFC event. Tune in to hear Torrez relate his journey and his hopes for the future in MMA. Follow each episode of Mocs on the Mic on GoMocs...

On this week’s episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, we find out what goes into planning and executing the Game Day experience for Mocs football. Host Chris Goforth talks to Finley Stadium Executive Director Brian Wright and UTC Deputy Athletics Director for External Operations Andrew Horton about the responsibilities of each organization on game day. The Mocs open the 2023 home slate...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth and Chattanooga football head coach Rusty Wright preview the 2023 season.   Coach Wright has his squad prepped and putting the final touches on the trip to North Alabama. It starts with 10 straight weeks of games before the bye and then the regular season finale at Alabama.   Learn more about what's to co...

It’s Chattanooga football time on Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank. The season kicks off Sept. 2 at North Alabama. This episode features the architects of the offensive and defensive strategies for the coming season. Host Chris Goforth is joined by the coordinators with Joe Pizzo representing the offense and Lorenzo Ward on the D side of things. Both are entering their fifth years in the Sce...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth caught up with new Southern Conference Commissioner Michael Cross. Cross is the 10th commissioner of the Southern Conference and has nearly 30 years of athletic administrative experience. He came to the SoCon from Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics after previous stops at Penn State, Bradley, Princeton...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth chats with Director of Volleyball Julie Torbett and the 2022 Southern Conference champion women’s soccer head coach Gavin McKinney to preview their teams’ 2023 seasons.   Soccer makes its return to Finley Stadium and kicks off action in an exhibition match on August 5. The season opens on the road on August 17 at SE...

We start the fifth season of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, with host Chris Goforth and Chattanooga Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. Wharton recaps the 2022-23 year and the accomplishments of the department. He was the winner of the Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Award given by NACA, one he attributes to the entire staff. Wharton, a...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth talks with men’s golf head coach Blaine Woodruff on the Mocs’ historic season.   The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team rose to national prominence again with a special 2022-23 season. The squad won four times as a group with two individual wins setting scoring records throughout the history books.   The final ra...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic, host Chris Goforth meets up with cross country and track and field head coach Andy Meyer and Southern Conference champion Lesley Green. Green and Meyer look back to the dedication and preparation needed to accomplish a championship. Lesley Green looks back on starting her career in track and field and what led her to Chattanooga. After redshirting the cros...

It’s Southern Conference time for the Chattanooga Mocs softball team. Head coach Frank Reed and senior Emily Coltharp talk about the season and preview the league championships with host Chris Goforth. The Mocs are the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 3 Furman in the opening round. UTC has won 15 Southern Conference Tournament titles including in 2022 in thrilling comeback fashion. Follow each epis...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth takes a dive into recapping the men's and women's successful tennis seasons with men's head coach Chuck Merzbacher and junior Peyton Gatti along with women's head coach Chad Camper.   The men's tennis team is coming off a historic 2023 campaign in which the squad won its first regular season Southern Conference titl...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, softball head coach Frank Reed can’t wait to get back to Frost Stadium. He and host Chris Goforth talk about this important move and what to expect. Hear what he has to say about the season and what’s to come. Frost Stadium underwent renovations this year and the Mocs have played on nearly Warner Park Field #3 for the season. Now the team...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth introduces new football coaches Zeb Speir and D.J. Knox. Speir, from Sylva, N.C., is the son of former Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in three-and-a-half years from Appalachian State in 2018 where he was quarterback. The Mountaineers were three-time Sun Belt Conference Champs i...

On the latest episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth goes into the “Way Back Machine” to talk with 2022 Hall of Famers Steven Kocsis (cross country/track) and Jonathan Hodge (men’s golf). Jonathan Hodge – Men’s Golf – 2006-09   Jonathan Hodge was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. He graduated with a school-record 71.41 scoring a...

The Mocs are dancing!! The Chattanooga women basketball team makes its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2017. Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank host Chris Goforth sits with UTC head coach Shawn Poppie as he makes his first trip into March Madness against his former team. Poppie was an assistant coach for Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech for six seasons, associate head coach...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth talks with wrestlilng head coach Kyle Ruschell and National Qualifiers Brayden Palmer and Matthew Waddell. The pair, along with Rocky Jordan, qualified for the NCAA Championships beginning March 16 and runs through the 18th in Tulsa, Okla.   Brayden Palmer, the 18 seed, opens against No. 15 Zach Redding from Iowa St...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank host Chris Goforth talks with the Mocs head coaches as UTC makes its way to the Southern Conference Championships this weekend in Asheville, N.C. Women’s head coach Shawn Poppie looks forward to his team’s chances in the SoCon Tournament as the No. 2 seed in his first season. UTC will take on Furman for the fourth time in five years. The Mo...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, former Chattanooga football player McClendon Curtis talks with host Chris Goforth about his post-UTC career opportunities. Mocs highly decorated lineman McClendon accepted an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He and Goforth talk about his experience in Mobile, Ala., and what he learned about himself. Curtis showed off his tale...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth talks with Rusty Wright, head coach of the Chattanooga Mocs football program. Wright discusses the 2023 Signing Class with 23 coming on board this coming year. Eleven are already on campus which leads to the second part of the discussion...spring practice. The Mocs are off to an early start this year with drills already...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth talks with softball head coach Frank Reed on the season and updates on Frost Stadium. The Mocs were picked to finish third in the SoCon by the league coaches, but that didn’t stop a slew of preseason awards for the Mocs. Senior Emily Coltharp was named the Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year. She earned the...

On this episode of Mocs on the Mic presented by SmartBank, host Chris Goforth takes a dive into the volleyball programs with Julie Torbett (Director of Volleyball) and Darin Van Horn (Head Beach Volleyball Coach) to gain an update inside each program.   The indoor volleyball team is coming off highly-successful 2022 fall season in which the team finished with its first winning season since 20...