A local car dealer recently committed $50,000 towards the construction of Tennessee Tech University’s rebuilt football stadium. Geoff Root, general manager and managing partner at Ford Lincoln of Cookeville, says the company strongly believes in investing in the community’s growth and development.
Tennessee Tech University is further strengthening its longtime partnership with supply-chain industry leader Averitt – this time through a major gift from the transportation powerhouse supporting Tech’s rebuilt football stadium.
Tech previously announced plans to completely rebuild the west side of Tucker Stadium, home of Tech’s Golden Eagle football team since 1966, to offer new amenities, suites, upgraded seating and expanded concessions, among other improvements. Demolition is slated to begin later this spring.
The university will also construct a state-of-the-art, 40,000-square foot football operations center complete with a new locker room and meeting rooms, players’ lounge, theater-style auditorium, sports medicine center and turf practice field. The venue marks a powerful demonstration of Tech’s investment in its student-athletes.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Ashtin Holman, Tennessee Tech University student-athlete and native of Winchester, Tenn., had a large part in preparing for the annual Black History Month Celebration basketball games that took place at the Hooper Eblen Center this past month.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Save the dates! The Pepsi Golden Eagle Scramble presented by Michelob Ultra will return again for 2024, with Tennessee Tech Athletics announcing the dates for the popular fundraising event. The event will span three days from Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9.
A pair of Tennessee Tech University alumni, Board of Trustees members and philanthropists have pledged a combined $1 million to support the university’s athletic programs.
Fred Lowery, a Knoxville native and 1994 Tech football alumnus with a degree in mechanical engineering, pledged $500,000 toward the campaign to rebuild the west side of Tech’s football stadium and construct a dedicated football operations center.
Lowery now serves as senior vice president and president of customer channels for Thermo Fisher Scientific. A university trustee since 2019, Lowery is also the founder of the Lowery Family Fund, which supports education, leadership development, social justice, health equity and the arts.
Tom Jones, a Cookeville native and 1986 Tech graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, pledged $500,000 toward the establishment of a new running track. The existing track spanning the perimeter of the university’s football field will be removed as part of the stadium renovation plan, which calls for bringing spectator seating closer to the field.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For decades, Frank Layne told the story of Tennessee Tech Athletics as the sports editor and beat writer for the Cookeville Herald-Citizen. A legendary local writer, the Golden Eagles meant the world to Layne.
The veteran sports writer passed away on Friday.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A 2020 inductee into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame, Thomas Squires was a leader, a friend and a tremendous player for the Golden Eagles.
As he passed away on Friday, Squires leaves a tremendous legacy, serving as an inspiration for Golden Eagle football players to follow as to how to succeed on the field and become leaders in life.
Squires was 59. Details on his memorial will be shared once they are available.
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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's student-athletes continued to impress in the classroom, boasting spectacular results for the Fall 2023 semester. After posting a 3.364 GPA collectively, the second-best GPA in Tech Athletics’ history, the Golden Eagles produced a strong showing on the Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's student-athletes turned in an eye-popping performance in the classroom during the Fall 2023 semester, securing Golden Eagle Athletics’ eighth-straight semester with a departmental GPA of at least 3.20.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a day of celebration at the Hooper Eblen Center on Friday as Tennessee Tech students received their degrees as a part of the University's Fall 2023 Commencement.
Among those were 29 student-athletes across all of Tech's intercollegiate sports.
"It is an absolute honor to see these student-athletes cross the Hooper Eblen Center stage to receive their degrees from (University President) Dr. (Phil) Oldham," said Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. "This is the culmination of countless hours of studying and classwork on top of their commitment to the University in their athletic endeavors. It has been a pleasure to watch these young men and women wear the Purple and Gold on the playing field and now as they end the current phase of their academic careers. It is also through the support from the University's professors, instructors, faculty and staff as well as our own Athletics Academic Support team in (Assistant Athletic Director for Academics and Student-Athlete Welfare) Dr. Leveda Birdwell and her staff, including Dr. Samantha Bates and Kara Phillips. All of them play a tremendous role in securing our student-athletes' success off the field."
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech student-athletes posted impressive scores in the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) reports, released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA. Tech has not only maintained a high level of success in the school's graduation rates overall, but the student-athlete graduation rates also continue to rank higher than those for the general TTU student body.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Following the completion of the fall sport championships, Tennessee Tech ranks tied for second in the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup all-sport trophy standings; the Cup is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – What has become a long-standing, Tennessee Tech Athletics tradition, two more Golden Eagle student-athletes were recognized for succeeding at the highest level of the Ohio Valley Conference Thursday morning as the League announced its six recipients of the 2023-24 OVC Scholar-Athlete Award, including Tech baseball pitcher Peyton Calitri and women's soccer midfielder Yao Giada Zhou.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When Anna Cooper was a student-athlete and nutrition major at Tennessee Tech, a cause near and dear to her heart was making sure the children of the Upper Cumberland area didn't go hungry.
Essential to that mission is the Anna Cooper's Backpack Buddies initiative, named after the former Golden Eagle track and field and cross country student-athlete who helped initiate the program during the 2016-17 year and was a vital part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's outreach efforts.
She passed away after a battle with cancer in June 2019 and the program was rededicated in her honor.
On Tuesday, over 250 bags of nutritious snack options were created by SAAC members and will be distributed to children and their families.
"Anna's mission still means so much to all of us in Tennessee Tech Athletics," said Mandy Thatcher, Tech Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Senior Woman Administrator, as well as SAAC faculty advisor. "In her honor, we continue to work toward her vision and, though SAAC's efforts, we continue to take a step closer."
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – One of the most consistent and successful golfers to don the purple and gold, Beth Underhill left her mark in the Tennessee Tech record books following the conclusion of her four-year career from 2002-06.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A pioneer in so many ways, Dr. M. Dianne Murphy blazed a trail for women in collegiate athletics, as a student-athlete, a coach, and an administrator.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When Bruce Hatfield finished his career at Tennessee Tech, he stood as the fourth-best tackler in Golden Eagle history. That was in 1987 – 34 years later, only four players (Tra’Darius Goff with 373, Marty Jones with 356, Austin Tallant with 354, and Josh Symonette with 349) have been able to pass him.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tim Benford was making big marks in the Tennessee Tech record book before his senior campaign, but the Golden Eagle wide receiver saved the best for last.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With business and community leaders in attendance at Tennessee Tech’s Hooper Eblen Center on Tuesday for the Cookeville/Putnam County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Before Hours event, Golden Eagle basketball coaches Kim Rosamond and John Pelphrey were clear on one thing.
The 2022-23 season was the start of something big.
With the 2023-24 campaign just days away – the Purple Palooza exhibition event scheduled for Thursday night and the first regular-season contests coming on the arrival of November – the task was getting the community just as excited for Golden Eagle basketball as they are.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A weekend starter since he first set foot on the campus of Tennessee Tech, Tristan Archer built a remarkable career on the mound for the Golden Eagle baseball team, one full of program records, league honors, and multiple championships.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech director of athletics Mark Wilson and faculty athletics representative Dr. Jeff Roberts have been appointed as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championships Subdivision (FCS) Oversight Committee. Wilson will serve a four-year term on the newly formed FCS Oversight Committee, representing the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association, while Roberts will serve a four-year term representing the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA).
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball and softball teams will take to the diamond with new surfaces in the 2024 season as both Quillen Field at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex and Tech Softball Field will see the additions of turf fields for competition.
The process has recently begun with the removal of the natural surface, while Tech Athletics will continue its partnership with The Motz Group for the installation of top-of-the-line Shaw Sports Turf systems.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Five individuals who helped take Tennessee Tech Athletics to new heights and pave the way for those student-athletes who followed them have been selected as members of the 49th class for induction into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Former Golden Eagle soccer star Brooke Mayo has reached the pinnacle of her post-graduate career, one that has kept her on the pitch she spent four seasons dominating for the Tennessee Tech soccer team.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech soccer forward Chloe Smith and Eastern Illinois softball pitcher Olivia Price have been selected as the nominees from the Ohio Valley Conference for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award for 2022-23.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The inaugural recipients of the OVC Community Service Awards have been announced with Tennessee Tech’s Seth Carlisle and Katelyn Farmer claiming the honors for 2022-23.
Tennessee Tech University posthumously honored a distinguished alumnus, community leader and Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame inductee with the naming of a street on Tech’s campus in his memory.
The semi-circle off McGee Boulevard outside Tech’s Hooper Eblen Center will now be known as Noble Cody Circle in memory of Noble Cody, who passed away in 2016. Members of the Cody family, friends and admirers attended a naming ceremony and reception memorializing Cody’s legacy.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference announced its 2022-23 Team Academic Achievement Awards Tuesday morning and Tennessee Tech came away with two team honors thanks to the Golden Eagle women's golf and men's tennis programs.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – With the 2023-24 academic year just about to begin, the Ohio Valley Conference recognized its annual OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for 2022-23 on Monday.
In all, 1,396 student-athletes were honored on the list, each fulfilling the requirement of at least a 3.25 grade point average, maintaining eligibility throughout their competitive season and using a season of eligibility.