UTC women’s basketball coach Deandra Schirmer and Movita Steiner
photo by UTC Athletics
A trailblazing gift for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s women’s athletics, the Steiner family has committed to a seven-figure contribution to explore a women’s athletics complex at UTC.
This new complex will include new competition and practice facilities for women’s soccer, new locker rooms for women’s beach volleyball, and new practice facilities and locker rooms for women’s softball.
Officials said the Steiner family gift “is the foundational contribution to an ongoing fundraising effort for the new women’s athletic complex” to be located at the current UTC Sports Complex and Engel Stadium site bounded by East 3rd Street, O’Neal Street and Oak Street.
“The Steiner family has a long history of supporting UTC, especially our women’s athletics programs,” stated Mark Wharton, vice chancellor and director of athletics.
“We are thankful for their generosity and the transformative impact this gift will have for multiple sports programs on campus and the fan experience.”
The women’s beach volleyball team achieved their first OVC title and made an NCAA appearance in 2024. The Mocs softball team swept the Southern Conference, winning both league titles and making an NCAA appearance in 2024. The women’s soccer team won its first-ever SoCon title in 2022 and is a constant contender in the league despite not having a proper home facility.
“Supporting UTC and its student-athletes has been a privilege for our family,” Movita Steiner said. “This new women’s athletics complex will be an exciting opportunity for so many students, and our family is pleased to see the impact this gift will have on campus and our community for years to come.”
Officials said, “The Steiner family has a history of generous support across UTC. In addition to extensive women’s basketball team support, the Steiner family has supported scholarships and programs in the Colleges of Engineering and Computer Science and Health, Education and Professional Studies.”
All 16 UTC athletics programs finished with an average 3.0 GPA or higher in the 2024 spring and fall semesters. With an average GPA of 3.38 for student-athletes, 80 percent earned a spot on the AD honor roll of 3.0 or higher.
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