The journey through 50 years of women’s basketball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga continues with a look at the next 22 years featuring Sharon Fanning and Craig Parrott. In 1976, Sharon Cable Fanning took on the role of head coach for the Chattanooga women’s basketball team. During her time as coach, the team’s nickname changed from Mocettes to Lady Mocs, and they unofficially won the first five Southern Conference titles. Fanning achieved 193 wins in 11 seasons, with a winning record in nine of those seasons, and the team also secured a national runner-up finish. The 1983-84 team claimed the first official Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles. Despite being a member of the NCAA, the Lady Mocs did not advance to the postseason tournament due to not all conferences earning an automatic bid. However, they did go to the National Women’s Invitation Tournament (NWIT) and defeated Clemson and Oklahoma before narrowly losing to Vanderbilt by one point in the final. Fanning’s success in Chattanooga opened up more opportunities for her, leading her to Kentucky and later Mississippi State, where she retired in 2012.
Craig Parrott joined Fanning as an assistant coach in the middle of the 1986-87 season and eventually took over as head coach for 11 seasons. In 1989, Parrott’s team won the SoCon Tournament crown, becoming the first team in Southern Conference history to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 1992, UTC returned to the NCAA Tournament and nearly upset Clemson, falling 76-72.
The 2023 season marks a major milestone for the Chattanooga women’s basketball team as they celebrate their 50th season of competition as a university-sponsored athletic program. Following the adoption of the Title IX legislation in 1972, UTC added women’s basketball, tennis, and volleyball programs to its roster of athletic teams, bringing on five decades of history and success for each of the teams. Throughout the 2023-24 season, Chattanooga WBB will be hosting multiple promotions and content pieces to celebrate the program’s history, culminating in the team hosting its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion during the Mocs’ February 3 matchup against Furman at McKenzie Arena.