University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor Dr. Roger Brown announced Laura Herron as the Interim Director of Athletics today. Herron will fill in for outgoing Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Rick Hart, who was announced as the new Director of Athletics at SMU earlier this afternoon.
Herron is currently a Senior Associate Athletics Director and the Senior Woman Administrator at UTC. She is entering her 19th season with the Mocs and has a wealth of experience in athletics administration.
"Laura Herron has proven herself to be an invaluable member of the athletics administration during her tenure at UTC," stated Dr. Brown. "She shows a great compassion and concern for the overall growth of our student-athletes. This is a strong and healthy athletics program, and I am confident in her leadership during this time of transition."
Hart just wrapped up his sixth year at UTC. During his tenure, the Mocs enjoyed record growth and performances in the classroom, on the court and in the community. UTC student-athletes increased their overall grade-point-average in seven of the last eight semesters, including tying a program high with a 2.97 in the spring. The Mocs also had 11 programs score a perfect 1000 in the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores released from the NCAA.
Athletically, UTC won 17 regular season and 22 Southern Conference Tournament Championships in Hart's tenure, far more than any other school in the league. UTC also took home its first Germann Cup in 2007-08 for the top women's program in the SoCon, and set a school record with a 99th place finish in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Director's Cup.
Chattanooga student-athletes have also established a strong reputation for their work in the community under Hart's leadership. From the week-long feature on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, to volunteering with the Special Olympics, the Mocs are excellent representatives of the University and the Chattanooga community.
"Chattanooga athletics is a competitive program with an outstanding reputation, so we certainly anticipate a number of interested candidates," added Dr. Brown. "That said, I want to move as quickly as possible to find the best candidate for this position with the hope of having someone identified by the beginning of our football season."
