Scrappy is the mascot of the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

, located in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. He is an anthropomorphic

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. ...

, the state bird of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Scrappy is named after the legendary, former Chattanooga football coach, A.C. "Scrappy" Moore.

History

Chattanooga was formerly the "Moccasins", named after nearby

Moccasin Bend Moccasin Bend Archeological District is an archeological site in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park unit. The National Park Service refers to it as one of the "most unique units found in t ...

. Several identities have been associated with UTC. A

water moccasin ''Agkistrodon piscivorus'' is a species of pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers (along with the Florida cottonmouth), and is native to the southeastern United States. A ...

mascot was used in the 1920s. A Native American mascot, "Chief Moccanooga", was used unti
1996
There was a short time in the 1980s when a

moccasin A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...

shoe was used as the mascot. Due to politically sensitive issues, it was decided to drop the use of Native American imagery. The nickname "Moccasins" was shortened to "Mocs" and the state bird was selected as mascot. The primary logo was Scrappy at the throttle of a steam locomotive from 1997 until 2007. This tied in with Chattanooga's history as a major

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

hub. Scrappy underwent a re-design in 2008 to better match the appearance of a Northern mockingbird, and dropped the railroad imagery at the same time. Scrappy has remained the same since 2008, other than a few minor alterations. In 2009, Scrappy appeared on

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

prior to the

2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament in which 65 schools competed to determine the national champion of the men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball ...

. In 2016, Scrappy was named the MascotInside
College Mascot of the Year
Scrappy competed for the first time in the Universal Cheerleader's Association National Championships in 2018 at the

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur s ...

located at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

. He competed in the Open Gameday category along with the UTC Spirit Squad, and they would be awarded 1st place in the nation and 2nd place overall.

Known performers

* Mitch Reburn * Tyler Hickerson (2012–2016) * Zachary Langley (2014–2018) * Ty Myers * Jaden Partain * Jackson Schneider

External links

gomocs.com

utc.edu

the UTC Mascot Change: Part of the story

2016 MascotInsider College Mascot of the Year

Roster
College mascots in the United States Chattanooga Mocs {{Tennessee-sport-stub