Chattanooga Math: 2 x FBS=$900k
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:52 pm
By John Frierson Staff Writer
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will open the 2008 football season at Oklahoma on Aug. 30, multiple UTC athletic department officials have confirmed this week. The officials declined to comment on the record until a formal announcement is made next week.
The Mocs are scheduled to face Florida State on Sept. 13, so they will play a pair of “money” games in the first three weeks of their 12-game schedule. The UTC athletic department is expected to receive more than $900,000 for the two games.
Athletic director Rick Hart has ties to both Oklahoma and FSU. He worked at Oklahoma for several years before coming to UTC, and his father, David, recently stepped down as the Seminoles’ athletic director.
Oklahoma, which went 11-3 this season and won its second straight Big 12 championship, was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press and coaches’ polls. The Sooners lost to West Virginia 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl and could be ranked in the top 5 in the ’08 preseason polls.
Florida State finished 7-6 after falling to Kentucky 35-28 in the Music City Bowl. The Seminoles likely will be without as many as a dozen players who were suspended for the first three games next season, they also missed the bowl game, for their involvement in an academic cheating scandal.
The Mocs, who went 2-9 in 2007, held their own for three quarters against Arkansas on Oct. 6 before falling 34-15. It was a nine-point game heading into the fourth quarter. The Mocs received $325,000 for that game.
This will be UTC’s first game against Oklahoma and the second against Florida State, which beat the Mocs 37-0 in 1984.
E-mail John Frierson at
jfrierson@timesfreepress.com
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will open the 2008 football season at Oklahoma on Aug. 30, multiple UTC athletic department officials have confirmed this week. The officials declined to comment on the record until a formal announcement is made next week.
The Mocs are scheduled to face Florida State on Sept. 13, so they will play a pair of “money” games in the first three weeks of their 12-game schedule. The UTC athletic department is expected to receive more than $900,000 for the two games.
Athletic director Rick Hart has ties to both Oklahoma and FSU. He worked at Oklahoma for several years before coming to UTC, and his father, David, recently stepped down as the Seminoles’ athletic director.
Oklahoma, which went 11-3 this season and won its second straight Big 12 championship, was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press and coaches’ polls. The Sooners lost to West Virginia 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl and could be ranked in the top 5 in the ’08 preseason polls.
Florida State finished 7-6 after falling to Kentucky 35-28 in the Music City Bowl. The Seminoles likely will be without as many as a dozen players who were suspended for the first three games next season, they also missed the bowl game, for their involvement in an academic cheating scandal.
The Mocs, who went 2-9 in 2007, held their own for three quarters against Arkansas on Oct. 6 before falling 34-15. It was a nine-point game heading into the fourth quarter. The Mocs received $325,000 for that game.
This will be UTC’s first game against Oklahoma and the second against Florida State, which beat the Mocs 37-0 in 1984.
E-mail John Frierson at
jfrierson@timesfreepress.com