Jim Morgan was a legendary figure at UTC, primarily known for establishing the Mocs wrestling team into a championship program. He guided Chattanooga from 1969 to 1984, posting a career record of 209-70-3. He was also a tennis coach, professor and athletic administrator during his long career at UTC.
Morgan's career win total and winning percentage (.746) are still tops in the school record books. He was the 1975 NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year when he led the Mocs to a third-place finish at the NCAA Tournament. The Mocs were runners-up the following season and finished ninth in 1977 before making the jump to the Southern Conference and NCAA Division I in 1978.
Morgan guided UTC to the conference crown its first six years as members of the SoCon, winning Coach of the Year honors in 1978, 1981 and 1983. He coached three individuals to NCAA Division II titles, including Randy Batten (1975-77), Turner Jackson (1975-76) and David Weeks (1976). Batten was the NCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1975.
There were four additional NCAA Division II All-Americans in Morgan's tenure, including Bill Burnside (1974), John Kavelage (1975-76), Tim Brennan (1976) and Ralph Zigner (1976).
Morgan's 1983 team finished 14th at the NCAA Championships, the highest for the wrestling program in Division I competition. Byron McGlathery (1980) and Charlie Heard (1982-84) earned NCAA Division I All-American honors under his tutelage.
After leaving the mat at UTC, he served as an Assistant Athletics Director before taking over the Baylor School wrestling program in 1986. His teams won nine state traditional championships, six state duals championships before he retired in 2010.
Morgan was a two-time graduate of the University of Chattanooga, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees. As a student at UC, he was a member of the wrestling team and won the Dayle May Award his senior year in 1960.
