Groundbreaking takes place for Wolford Family Athletics Complex at UTC
This past Friday was a great day for the Chattanooga Mocs athletics family. Despite chilly weather compared to the glorious start to spring this week, the front of McKenzie Arena was aglow with optimism for the future amid the warmth of memories of a fantastic football alum.
It was groundbreaking day for the Wolford Family Athletics Complex addition to the Roundhouse. The new facility is named in honor and memory of James “Bucky” Wolford, who died in September 2017. Wolford was a Mocs All-American defensive back from 1966-69 and a 1989 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
His 13 career interceptions are tied for the UTC record, and he led the Mocs with 852 rushing yards in 1968, when the team achieved a 9-1 record.
“Facilities are vital in recruiting and retaining student-athletes,” Coach Rusty Wright explained. “It’s the life blood of the process. We’re excited to get this project started and see its impact on our student-athletes in all areas of their journey here.
“It will be a fitting memory of just what Bucky has meant to this program.”
The complex will be nearly 60,000 square feet in scope with state-of-theart space for student-athletes. It will impact every area of the football program, while enhancing others as well. The football program’s locker room, meeting spaces, offices, training and equipment facilities are being designed to maximize the student-athlete experience for all sports.
It will provide new locker rooms for men’s and women’s basketball. A key development is the greatly enhanced sports medicine area with hydrotherapy pool and treatment rooms with a newly dedicated events space for hospitality not only for athletics, but campus-wide use.
“The commitment of Dr. Steve Angle and our campus leadership towards this project makes all the difference,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. “It will have a positive effect on all of our programs, but it is a vital and necessary upgrade for our football program.
“We cannot thank the Wolford family enough for their continued generosity. I think Vice Chancellor Kim White said it best, ‘this building addition is such a fitting way to put an exclamation point on all of the years of service Bucky gave to this University’.
“It will impact all 300-plus of our student-athletes.”
Construction will starts right away with hopes of completion in 2024.