📍 Chattanooga, Tennessee
🏀 Home of Chattanooga Mocs basketball

A railroad town made famous in the 1941 song “Chattanooga Choo Choo“, the eponymous city of Chattanooga is Tennessee’s fourth largest and sits on a river bend nestled in the southern Appalachians. The Scenic City has a vibrant and growing sports scene, with outdoor and river-related sports seemingly prevailing over indoor sports such as basketball. For those interested in the latter, however, the region’s premier venue for hoops is undoubtedly McKenzie Arena.

Opened in 1982 as the new home for the Mocs of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, McKenzie Arena seats nearly 11,000 fans and is just steps away from the mighty Tennessee River. Although the arena is a bit dated and has seen few upgrades over the last several decades, a state-of-the-art athletic facility expansion is currently under construction and aims to breathe new life into Mocs basketball.

The Chattanooga Mocs were originally named the “Moccasins”, featuring both a snake and an Indian in their branding, before transitioning to an alternative nickname in 1997. In an effort to discard any inappropriate Native American imagery, the new shortened “Mocs” name was chosen and spun as a reference to the Tennessee state bird – the mockingbird – which is also portrayed as the team’s mascot, Scrappy. The school uses some train imagery as well in a nod to the city’s rich railroad heritage. McKenzie Arena itself has been nicknamed “The Roundhouse”, another cheeky recognition of Chattanooga’s important role in the Civil War and beyond as the crossroads of several different railroad lines.

Inside the venue, some historical plaques and placards line the concourse, highlighting important moments in the history of all the athletic teams at UTC . This includes a plaque commemorating Chattanooga football alum Terrell Owens, who notoriously skipped his official induction ceremony into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, instead hosting his own ceremony at McKenzie Arena.

The seating bowl at McKenzie is very steep, with the upper bowl pitched at an extreme angle and stretching almost to the heavens. This places fans on top of the action no matter where they sit and can create a challenging atmosphere for the Mocs’ opponents; unfortunately, the upper level is closed for most basketball games due to a lack of demand.

Fans just aren’t turning out to see their team these days. The Mocs used to be a Division II powerhouse, winning the 1977 National Championship prior to transitioning up to DI. Post-transition, their biggest success was a run into the Sweet Sixteen in 1997, but they regrettably haven’t escaped the Round of 64 since. The Mocs last made the tournament in 2022, sparking hope that perhaps Chattanooga’s basketball team may once again electrify the Roundhouse sometime soon.