Come celebrate a Chattanooga treasure. UTC women's basketball head coach Jim Foster became just the eight coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach the 900-win plateau, doing so in his 40^th year on the sideline.
 
Be one of the first fans through the gates to receive "900 WINS" sunglasses and a commemorative poster celebrating this feat. The Mocs are hosting ETSU and looking to move into a tie with the Bucs for second place with a win. ETSU beat Chattanooga on the road earlier this season.
 
His first win was almost 40 years ago on December 5, 1978 in his first year as a collegiate head coach at St. Joseph's University. The Hawks beat Delaware 75-52. On the bench beside him was an unknown at the time Geno Auriemma who made the leap from the high school ranks with Foster.
 
In 13 seasons with St. Joe's, Foster led the Hawks to 248 wins and spent 35 weeks in the AP Top 25 Poll. He had 12 winning seasons and topped the 20-win mark in six seasons. The Hawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament six times and made it into the second round four times.
 
Win No. 100 was a 76-75 win over Oklahoma on Jan. 5, 1985. Just over four years later, on Feb. 13, 1989, he would get win No. 200 over his alma mater, Temple by a 65-58 margin.
 
In 1991, Foster was hired to lead Vanderbilt for the next 11 seasons. He led the Commodores to four second place regular season finishes while guiding the team to the SEC Tournament final six times. Vanderbilt won the title three times under Foster – twice at the Roundhouse.
 
The highlight of his career with the Commodores was taking his team to the 1993 Final Four. After defeating Georgia in the SEC final – hosted by Chattanooga – Vanderbilt got past Cal-Berkeley, Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana Tech to reach the Final Four in Atlanta.
 
The 58-53 win over the Lady Techsters on March 27, 1993 in the Elite Eight was Foster's 300^th win of his career. He would reach two more milestones in Nashville. No. 400 was on Nov. 30, 1997 in a 91-51 non-conference matchup with North Texas. The Commodores defeated Arkansas 81-78 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round on March 2, 2002 for his 500^th win before leaving Vandy for Ohio State.
 
At Ohio State, the Buckeyes reached the NCAA Tournament in 10 of his 11 seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 three times. He led OSU to six Big 10 regular season titles and the Big 10 Conference Tournament final six times winning four crowns.
 
He reached win No. 600 in his fourth season at Ohio State, defeating Michigan State 69-38 on Feb. 20, 2006. It would take less than four years to reach No. 700. The Buckeyes closed out 2009 with a win over Northwestern, 86-60 on December 31.
 
Foster was hired at Chattanooga in 2013 and inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame the next month after a storied career that refused to quit.
 
It would take just that first season to reach win No. 800. The Mocs beat Samford 63-50 at the Roundhouse on January 24, 2014 and celebrated their new coach's victory after the game.
 
Now in his fifth season with UTC, Foster has led the Mocs to four straight Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles. Twice the Mocs went undefeated in Southern Conference regular season play.
 
His 900^th win, just the eighth coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach that milestone, came on February 1^st this season at Western Carolina. The team celebrated their coach's achievement with silly string and sunglasses.
 
Come be part of the celebration this Saturday. The Mocs will host ETSU and have a shot at second place in the Southern Conference standings. Tickets are on sale at the McKenzie Arena box office and online at GoMocs.com. Stick around for the men's game against Mercer to follow.