Chattanooga hires Mark Wharton as its athletic director

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) Chattanooga has hired Mark Wharton as its new athletic director. Chancellor Steven Angle said Tuesday in a university release that

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) Chattanooga has hired Mark Wharton as its new athletic director.

Chancellor Steven Angle said Tuesday in a university release that Wharton's ''expertise in fundraising fits perfectly with the needs of our athletics program.'' Wharton spent the last four years as Penn State's associate athletics director for development.

Wharton says he is ''extremely honored and humbled'' to be hired as vice chancellor and director of athletics.

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

• Miami (FL)
• Georgia
• Utah
• Indiana
• Alabama
• Kentucky
• Texas
• UCLA
• BYU
• Ole Miss
• Notre Dame
• Ohio State

PREREGISTER TO PLAY

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See Official Rules for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

He replaces David Blackburn, who had been Chattanooga's athletic director for four years. Chattanooga announced in June that Blackburn was leaving to pursue other interests.

Before coming to Penn State, Wharton worked at East Carolina from 1996-2000 and 2006-13. He also had stints at James Madison (2000-03), UNC Asheville (2003-04) and UNLV (2004-06).

Scott Altizer had been serving as Chattanooga's interim athletic director.