Scrappily ever after: Homecoming Week 2024 comes to a close

Braden Stillwell (left) and Chamyra Teasley were crowned Homecoming King and Queen at the 2024 Homecoming game. Photo by Angela Foster.

After a full week of events and celebration, the Mocs’ football win against Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, Oct. 26, capped off Homecoming Week 2024 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

A complete collection of photos from Homecoming Week can be found by clicking here.

During halftime, the long-awaited coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen took center stage with the crowning of seniors Braden Stillwell and Chamyra Teasley.

Teasley is an engineering management major from Clarksville, Tennessee. She holds multiple leadership roles as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, resident assistant and orientation leader. In her junior year, she served as president of the Student Government Association (SGA). She is also a Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Projects intern and a member of the TVA Women in Nuclear group.

Stillwell, a sociology major from Etowah, Tennessee, serves as a Chancellor’s Ambassador and orientation leader and both the recruitment and philanthropy chairman for Sigma Nu fraternity. He previously served as the vice president of the SGA and was the founding president of the sociology club. He is currently a transportation planning intern for the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority.

“It’s really special that my peers think so highly of me and have for the past four years,” said Teasley after she was crowned. “This is a really great senior year so far.”

Stillwell echoed the sentiment.

“It’s just an honor to be selected by the student body to represent them in this capacity,” he said. “I hope to serve them well.”

Also recognized during Homecoming game halftime ceremonies were Public Service Award winners Nevaeh Morris and Jordan Walker, who both received a $1,000 scholarship for displaying the most distinguished service to UTC and the Chattanooga community.

Nevaeh Morris (left)

Morris, hailing from Athens, Tennessee, is a business marketing major who currently serves as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, a First in Fletcher Council member, a Dean’s Student Advisory Council member, an executive member and trainer for the Campus Ambassador tour guides, and as the director of philanthropy for Alpha Delta Pi. In the community, she has volunteered with the Ronald McDonald House, the Chattanooga Food Bank and the Love Without Reason 5k.

Walker is a finance and investments major and education minor from Sharps Chapel, Tennessee. He currently serves as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, an orientation leader, a lead analyst with the SMILE Fund, a member of the Phillips Scholars in Free Enterprise, the treasurer of the Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity, a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Eta Sigma, and Beta Gamma Sigma honors societies, and was a participant in UTC Survivor. In the community, he has volunteered with Living Water International and Orange Grove Center of Chattanooga.

Jordan Walker (right)

“Serving both UTC and the Chattanooga community, the Public Service Award winners for 2024 are extraordinary students and leaders on campus,” said Molly Cooper, UTC director of alumni affairs. “Sponsored by the UTC Alumni Board of Directors and Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, we are proud to recognize Navaeh and Jordan with this award, the accompanying scholarship and to call them Mocs.”

NFL Hall of Famer and former UTC Moc Terrell Owens was at the game after hyping up fans the day before at a Homecoming Week pep rally.

“Being in Chattanooga, I remember coming and being here and having homecoming,” Owens said. “It’s a special time of the year.”

The Downtown Pep Rally––an event sponsored by Advancement for faculty, staff, students, alumni and Chattanooga community members––was held at Miller Park and featured performances from the UTC Pep Band, cheerleading squad and Ladies of Gold.

Kim White, vice chancellor for Advancement, served as the emcee, introducing SGA President Jordan Fall, UTC Alumni President Ken Jones and Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director Mark Wharton.

One proud attendee was Erik Gray, a 1996 graduate of UTC and former mascot.

“I love my school,” Gray said. “If your name is on the roll, your heart is in the work. I was here, and so that’s why it’s important to me to be blue and gold.”