Hall of Fame
Murray Arnold became the 13th head men’s basketball coach in Chattanooga annals in 1979. He wasted little time putting his stamp on the program in six seasons.
Arnold’s charges won a school-record 74.6 percent of their games with a 135-46 record from 1980-85. That includes a 74-22 (.771) mark in Southern Conference play. His squads won four Southern Conference Regular Season Championships and three SoCon Tourney titles.
There were three NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances in his six years on the bench. The Mocs won 21 or more games five seasons including a school-record 27 in 1982. That team went 27-4, defeated N.C. State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament a year before the Wolfpack’s Cinderella Championship and came within a whisker of making the Sweet 16, losing by one to Minnesota.
The 1983 season brought more of the same with a 26-4 record. That team also lost by a point in the NCAA Tourney this time to Maryland. It ended the year ranked No. 15 in the nation in the AP poll.
Arnold’s teams loved home cooking. They went 83-9 over his six seasons, a 90.2 winning percentage. His remarkable final five years saw the team tantalize the Scenic City with a 72-5 (.935) mark in Maclellan Gym and the sparkling new UTC Arena.
He won SoCon Coach of the Year honors twice in 1982 and 1983. He piloted 11 all-league performers with one SoCon Player of the Year (Willie White - 1982). Arnold had 13 All-SoCon Tournament members with Nick Morken (1981), Russ Schoene (1982) and White (1983) earning Most Outstanding Player. He also had five NBA Draft picks join the Mocs in his short time with the program.
