UTC senior graphic design major Caleb Connery displays artwork created for the “Mocs Y2K” Homecoming 2026 theme. His designs brought a Y2K-inspired look to Homecoming visuals, including Scrappy illustrations and sticker sheets. Photo by Angela Foster.
Homecoming 2026 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga started with a blank canvas—and Caleb Connery behind it.
As a senior graphic design major, Connery was charged with designing the visual aspects for UTC Homecoming 2026. He crafted the “Mocs Y2K” theme into illustrations and graphics, bringing a student touch to one of the University’s biggest traditions.
Connery had the opportunity to build the visual concepts from the ground up. From bold and colorful patterns to sticker sheets featuring Scrappy, Connery brought the theme to campus life.
“Every visual aspect has a purpose,” said Connery, a graduate of McGavock High School in Nashville. “Even the colors we’re choosing—the bright blues, pinks and yellows that give it that Y2K feel.”
His approach to Scrappy was especially personal. Rather than redesigning UTC’s mascot to fit the Y2K aesthetic, Connery wanted to capture the personality he sees in Scrappy as a student.
Connery’s illustrations allowed Scrappy to step outside his usual role as UTC’s mascot. He said he wanted his designs to show Scrappy as a character students could relate to while keeping qualities that make him Scrappy.
In the illustrations, Scrappy can be found relaxing on a beanbag with music, rolling on roller skates and chatting on the phone.
Some of Connery’s other designs bring the early 2000s theme to life through a Mocs fanny pack, a smiley face and a “Mocs Y2K” banner.
“It was important to me to make sure he retained his character,” said Connery. “To me, he’s a little grumpy, but in a very kind and polite way.”
According to Meghan Phillips, art director in UTC’s Division of Communications and Marketing, Connery’s willingness to bring his own perspective to the project helped his work stand out.
Phillips said Connery’s ability to balance creativity with strategy was central to his work. She said his process of researching the theme, thinking of the purpose and finding ways to make his work stand out made him essential to the team.
“He is light years ahead in terms of his career trajectory in understanding,” said Phillips. “He understands branding and he understands how to be experimental and break certain rules for a good effect.”
Connery’s attention to detail has changed the way he approaches his own work. According to Phillips, a finished graphic or sticker sheet may look simple, but a lot of strategy goes on behind the scenes.
“One thing students might not realize is the visuals and design work that goes into Homecoming,” said Connery. “Even with something as simple as the stickers, it takes so much more work than people think.”
Working on these projects also changed how Connery experiences Homecoming itself. Before working on the designs, he said he was not strongly drawn to sports or campus athletic life. Homecoming was something happening in the background of campus life for him; however, crafting the visuals allowed him to contribute in a way that felt natural and meaningful.
“I can make this thing that people will get to enjoy and experience,” said Connery, “and I get to be involved in those things even without having to compromise who I am and my enjoyment.”
As Connery looks towards graduating in spring 2027, he said he hopes his work will become part of a larger tradition of student creativity. Inspired by past student designers, he hopes to offer the same to the next.
“I hope that the next student who does the designs can look at my year and the years before me and be inspired to put their own spin on the illustration,” said Connery.
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Division of Communications and Marketing
UTC senior Caleb Connery stands with a sticker sheet he designed for Homecoming 2026’s “Mocs Y2K” theme.
