The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has hired Sean Dawkins from Murray State to take over as running backs coach. Dawkins replaces Wes Satterfield, who left UTC in January to become the quarterbacks coach at Southeast Louisiana. Dawkins spent the past four seasons coaching running backs and working as the run-game coordinator at Murray State. He previously worked as running backs coach at West Texas A&M and Huntingdon College. He played collegiately at Troy, where he was a three-year starter at fullback. He was an all-state player at Atlanta's Parkview High, helping that school to three consecutive Class 5A state titles. "We're really excited for him to join the staff," UTC head coach Russ Huesman said. "We wanted someone who had played and coached the running back position before, and Sean not ony fills those qualifications, but he has ties in the Atlanta area, which should help us in recruiting."

Running

• For the second time in three years, the UTC men's cross country team led NCAA Division I in aggregate grade point average for the fall semester. Coach Bill Gautier's Mocs compiled a 3.71 team GPA, and the Lady Mocs at 3.64 were 18th out of 217 teams and joined the men as a USTFCCCA all-academic team for 2013. Leading the Mocs were senior runners Lucas Cotter, Mark Cole and John Gilpin and junior Patrick O'Brien with 4.0 semesters. Cotter, who graduated last spring and his working on his M.B.A., and Cole were All-Southern Conference as runners. Cole, who has a 3.867 GPA for his UTC career, and Gilpin are HHP: Exercise Science majors; O'Brien majors in chemistry. Cotter also was a USTFCCCA all-academic individual for having a GPA of at least 3.25 and finishing as an All-American or in the top 15 of his regional meet. Sophomore Teghan Henderson, the Southern Conference women's runner of the year, was all-academic for the Lady Mocs.

Softball

• The Chattanooga State softball team continued its early-season offensive onslaught with 12-4 and 7-1 wins Friday at Gulf Coast State College, where Lady Tigers coach Blythe Golden used to play and work. Emily Dagnan was 3-for-3 with a two-run home run and a double in the first game and went 2-for-4 along with Bailee Williams, Courtney Crawford and Sydney Spurgeon in game two for the Lady Tigers (8-0). Williams had a double and an RBI, Izzy McCurry was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and Katy Richardson homerd among three hits in support of Sharlene Godoy's five-hit pitching. Shelby Willard struck out 13 in the first game, when Richardson had two hits and three RBIs and Khadija Neely and Crawford each was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Neely tripled.

• Returning nine players from last year's team, Covenant College begins its 2014 softball season today with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at Berry College. Sophomore Morgan Lane from Girls Preparatory School batted .421 with only one strikeout in 95 at-bats in 2013, and senior Chandler Shepherd from Conyers, Ga., and sophomore Madison Quirk from McMinn County hit .300 and .302, Shepherd with 24 stolen bases in 25 tries. Other lineup returners are seniors Lauren Johns and Meagan Hess, junior Morgan Strennen and sophomore Kendall Whann, and junior Ooltewah resident Cori Hilt is back to pitch. She had a five-inning no-hitter last April. Key freshmen as sixth-year coach Sara Russell's Lady Scots make their USA South Athletic Conference debut are versatile Jordan Brett from Swainsboro, Ga.; Kaitlyn Sirmons from Havana, Fla.; Anna Verwey from Middleburg, Fla.; and Nicole White from Fayetteville, Ga.

Basketball

• Delta State won the men's basketball game in Thursday night's battle of Clevelands, beating the Flames from Tennessee 75-57 in rising to 20-3 overall and 13-2 in the GSC. Devin Schmidt and Willie Readus had 21 and 20 points and four assists apiece, Readus with eight rebounds, for the Statesmen in Cleveland, Miss. For Lee (8-12, 4-10), Cory Billingsley and Jamal Worthington scored 11 points each, Worthington with three blocked shots, and Chad Lee had eight points and seven rebounds.

• Dalton State improved to 23-3 in its inaugural basketball season with a 72-58 victory Thursday night at Faulkner University in Montgomery. LaDaris Green had 19 points and 20 rebounds (11 offensive) to lead the Roadrunners, while Preston Earle and Demetrice Jacobs scored 12 points each and Ricky Sears added 11. Cyrille Sanjon led Faulkner with 16.

• Paige Lowe made 11 of 13 free throws and scored 15 points and Casey Hassett had 11 rebounds with 14 points Friday night, but their Sewanee women's basketball team lost 63-48 in Southern Athletic Association play at Millsaps. Jamie Chauvin added 11 points for the Tigers (9-12, 2-8). The Sewanee men lost 63-51 as the Majors (5-14, 2-8) were 8-of-19 on 3-point shots compared to 4-of-15 for the Tigers (11-11, 4-6). Marcellus Caldwell and Keshonn Carter led Sewanee with 13 and 12 points, and Jorden Williams scored nine.

Baseball

• Cody Rhinehart was 3-for-5 with three RBIs for the Bryan baseball team Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Georgia Gwinnett, but the Lions lost 9-7. Bryan scored six runs in the top of the ninth to get close. Pat Long was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs and Ty Abbot was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored for Gwinnett.