UTC reveals 2021 Hall of Fame class
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Department announced the inductees to the Class of 2021 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. Five members representing a variety of sports and eras were chosen for induction, along with the four special award winners.
The 2021 class includes student-athletes who were trailblazers in their sport, enjoyed long professional careers, National Champions and Athletes of the Year. Leading this group is Greg Andrews (1968-71), a men’s basketball star who was the first African-American scholarship athlete at UTC. Also included is Rosalinda Baron (Women’s Tennis – 1978-81), Jim Bradshaw (Football – 1960-62), Heath Eslinger (Wrestling – 1996-2000, Head Coach 2010-18) and Shanara Hollinquest (Women’s Basketball – 2007-10).
The Hall of Fame Award Winners are Robbie Jones (Gordon Davenport Award), Dr. Richard Sander (Joe Morrison Award), Drew Nicholson (Scrappy Moore Award) and Terry Denniston and Jayne Holder (Harold Wilkes Award).
The inductees and award winners will be honored at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, Oct. 29, in the University Center’s Tennessee Room. The banquet is open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are required.
The cost is $50 per person, which includes dinner. Submit payments and RSVP’s to the UTC Athletic Development Office at (423) 425-5273. For more information, email jude-eftink@ utc.edu.
The UTC Athletics Hall of Fame was established to formally recognize outstanding contributions to the heritage and tradition of the university’s intercollegiate athletics program. A total of 229 individuals have been inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame during special ceremonies held each year.
Greg Andrews
Andrews played four seasons for head coach Leon Ford. He 1,003 points in 94 contests, ranking as the fourth-leading scorer in school history at the end of his career behind David Bryan (1,648), Tom Losh (1,269) and Gary Davis (1,102). He was part of the first recruiting class (1967) to have multiple 1,000-point scorers (Losh). The Mocs won a then school-record 18 games (185) during his senior campaign. The four-year mark of 58-40 tied for the most wins for a recruiting class at that time with the 196164 squads.
Rosalinda Baron
Baron was an All-American member of the women’s tennis team from 1979-82. She was a part of the program that won AIAW Small College National Championships in 1978 and 1979. At the 1979 tournament, she won the No. 6 singles title and teamed with Dana Rapport to win the No. 3 doubles championship in Denver, Colo. The 1979 team scored a perfect 90 points at the AIAW Championships, winning all nine singles and doubles flights for head coach Bill Tym.
Jim Bradshaw
Bradshaw was a standout quarterback during his career at UTC who went on to play five seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He moved over to safety during his professional career and posted 11 interceptions in 62 career games with the Steelers. Two of those 11 were pick-sixes and he also had two fumble returns for touchdowns in his NFL career. As a Moc, he led the team in passing in 1960 and ran for 121 yards in a win over MTSU on Oct. 21, 1961. He has the second-most NFL games played among eligible Mocs not currently in the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame.
Heath Eslinger
Eslinger was a three-time Southern Conference Champion as a student-athlete at UTC from 1996-2000. He posted a 120-18 all-time mark and was the 2000 SoCon Wrestler of the Year. His 120 career wins broke the school’s all-time mark and is still No. 2 on the list today. He was the MVP of the SoCon Tournament in 2000 and climbed as high as No. 6 in the national rankings as an individual. He took over as head coach of the Mocs in 2010 and won five regular season and four tournament titles in nine years. The 2011 and 2013 SoCon Coach of the Year is second in career wins with a 101-63 overall record. Eslinger was also the driving force in bringing the Southern Scuffle to Chattanooga.
Shanara Hollinquest
Hollinquest was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year, leading the league in scoring in 200809 (16.5 ppg) and 200910 (17.0 ppg). She was the 2010 SoCon Female Athlete of the Year and the MVP of the 2010 SoCon Tournament. A three-time member of the All-SoCon team, Hollinquest is sixth in alltime scoring at Chattanooga with 1,700 points. She is also sixth in career rebounds (891), second in career field goal percentage (594-1109, 53.6 percent) and the career leader in free throw made with 498. As a team, the Mocs won or shared the SoCon regular season title all four years of her career. UTC also advanced to the postseason all four years and made the NCAA Tournament three times.