The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Department had a record-breaking 2023-24 fiscal year on the fundraising front, according to the final tally after the books closed on June 30. Led by the Mocs Club, the advancement arm of the Mocs, UTC set new marks in total money raised and giving to the annual fund.
"Now more than ever, a full pot of resources is needed to compete at any level of Division I college athletics," stated UTC Vice Chancellor & Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. "Our fans, alumni and supporters have shown their passion for our success with their giving over the last year. We are grateful for their commitment to this University and the hard work of our student-athletes, coaches and staff."
All in, the Mocs raised over $4.7 million, a 21% increase from the previous year. Giving to the Mocs Club annual fund also topped $1 million for the first time in school history, a 31% increase from 2022-23.
"We set some lofty goals for the Mocs Club that will continue into the future," added Wharton. "Ryan Jones and his staff embrace this challenge and work tirelessly to secure the needed resources for our student-athletes to achieve their goals in both the classroom and competition."
The Mocs Club completed the first year of a five-year Mocs Take Flight annual fund initiative. Continuing the pursuit of reaching $1.5 million annually in five years, this will put UTC Athletics near the top of the Southern Conference in terms of annual support. Be on the lookout for more information regarding year two and beyond.
Chattanooga also raised over $225,000 in the first year of the
All Aboard: The Drive for UTC Women's Athletics initiative. This program specifically targets funds to exclusively support women's athletics at UTC.
The Mocs Club also completed its second 20 donor class of One Chattanooga members. These supporters help with major department-wide areas that affect the student-athlete experience. Donors involved in this group make annual commitments of at least $10,000 above and beyond other philanthropic pledges to UTC.
"Our competitive edge in the evolving world of college athletics is philanthropy at Chattanooga," stated Jones, the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Advancement and the Mocs Club. "The work Anthony Miele and Scarlett Elliott on our staff have done to promote the belief of philanthropy of UTC Athletics to our community is demonstrated in these record-breaking numbers.
"In addition to our team, we are grateful to the donors that continue to gift, advocate, and promote the philanthropic mission of UTC Athletics to their networks: these numbers would not be possible without them."
Five Year Fundraising by the Numbers
| Fiscal Year |
Annual Fund Cash |
Overall Dollars Raised |
| 2024 |
$1,057,195 |
$4,712,680 |
| 2023 |
$810,926 |
$3,939,644 |
| 2022 |
$721,818 |
$3,285,580 |
| 2021 |
$701,650 |
$1,867,567 |
| 2020 |
$533,856 |
$1,324,734 |
• 225% increase in all-in fundraising since 2020.
• 98% increase in annual fund support since 2020.
• 65% increase in number of annual fund donors since 2020.
• 33% increase in overall number of donors since 2020.
Another accomplishment for the Mocs Club was Jones and the advancement team earning the 2024 UT Foundation President's Award. The UT Foundation President's Award is the highest honor an employee can receive. It recognizes outstanding achievements by advancement staff in applying creative concepts to improving performance, advancing fundraising and alumni engagement efforts, and promoting a better understand of the system-wide advancement activities and asset management services of the UT Foundation.
UTC's success in 2023-24 was not just limited to the fundraising front. In competition, Chattanooga won conference titles in women's basketball, beach volleyball and softball. Men's and women's cross country, football, wrestling and men's golf also represented the Mocs in the NCAA postseason. That led to UTC's second-best showing in the Learfield Director's Cup. The Mocs placed 110
th nationally, which was tops in the SoCon.
Academically, Chattanooga posted a 3.318 overall GPA in the 2024 spring semester. It was the second-highest mark on record and the first time in a non-Covid adjustment term that every team had over a 3.0.
The Mocs will soon celebrate the official opening of the $36 million Wolford Family Athletics Center, but that is not the end of facility projects on the horizon. New offices are coming for the golf, soccer and track & field/cross country teams in McKenzie Arena and the wrestling program is in the early stages of planning for an expanded room in Maclellan Gym.
Look for these numbers to continue to grow in 2025.
