Football Southern Conference

Chattanooga Adds Vanderbilt To '03 Schedule

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football
team will play its first Southeastern Conference opponent since 1995 next
season as the Mocs will travel to Vanderbilt Sept. 6, Athletics Director
Steve Sloan announced Wednesday.

The two schools agreed this week on a contract for the second weekend of
the 2003 season in a game to be played at Vanderbilt Stadium. Kickoff time
is yet to be determined.

"We are excited about the opportunity to play an SEC school and a program
like Vanderbilt," Sloan said. "This is obviously a short trip for our fans
to a great city like Nashville and a rare chance for our student-athletes
to compete against an SEC team in this kind of arena. Todd Turner and the
Vanderbilt officials were extremely cooperative with this project, and we
appreciate their interest in playing a Division I-AA in-state school."

The last time the Mocs faced an SEC team was in 1995 when Auburn handed UTC
a 76-10 defeat. UTC's last meeting with the Commodores came in 1985, a 7-0
loss in Nashville. Overall, Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 17-1 with
UTC's only victory coming in 1945.

The addition of Vanderbilt to the 2003 schedule concludes the slate for the
Mocs. UTC will open with Samford on Aug. 30 at home. Tennessee Tech makes
a return trip to Finley Stadium on Sept. 13, and a visit to Gardner-Webb
Sept. 20 rounds out the non-conference slate. The Mocs are tentatively set
to play 12 regular-season games for the second straight year in 2003.

"This is a job well-done," UTC head coach Donnie Kirkpatrick said. "I
thought if we could play an SEC team, it would be good for our program. At
the same time, if we could play an SEC team that was in the State of
Tennessee, that would be even better. We had an opening when they had an
opening, and Coach Sloan worked out the details."

The game has additional interest for Sloan. He served as the Commodores'
head football coach in the 1970s and guided Vanderbilt to the 1974 Peach Bowl.