“If you knew Alan, you knew his love for the Mocs,” says Alan’s wife, Laura. Alan Cooper (‘96) was a well-known face at Chattanooga football and basketball games. The year before he passed, Laura had Alan’s truck painted UTC Blue and Gold for tailgates at Finley Stadium. His brother, Scott Cooper, has agreed to continue that tradition. While at UTC from 1991 to 1996, Alan wrote for the school newspaper and, after graduation, was the Assistant Sports Information Director for the Mocs. Part of the family’s gift will name the Football Coordinator and Film Suite at the new Wolford Family Athletic Center in Alan’s memory.
Creating an even more enduring legacy, they also established the Alan Cooper Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be for communication students who, like Alan, are interested in sports information. Laura hopes the scholarship will not only honor Alan’s passion for both the excitement of sports and the field of communication but also ease the financial burden for a student who is working hard to make a positive impact on the UTC community. “Our family knew a gift in his honor to UTC would honor the University that gave him so much joy throughout his lifetime,” shared Laura.
Every year, there would be one day when Alan and Laura’s home was a “house-divided,” Alan a UTC Moc and Laura a Furman Paladin. No matter the outcome, Laura was happy to be a part of the Cooper family. Laura shared, “whichever team won that day, I always went home being Alan Cooper’s number 1 fan.”
Alan (’96) and Laura Cooper
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