Each year, when a new class is inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Hall of Fame, there are some interesting facts about the individuals that come to light.  They make for good "Did You Know" trivia questions and fascinating tidbits of information leading up to the induction weekend.

That is certainly the case with wrestling's representative Jeff Rufolo.  Everyone knows that Jeff is a three-time Southern Conference Champion, who competed for the Mocs from 1984-88.  However, not everyone knows that one of his 74 career wins was against five-time UFC Champion Randy Couture.

This was an obscure win for Rufolo in the semifinals of the 1987 Southern Open in in Maclellan Gym.  Rufolo scored a 4-3 decision over Couture on his way to a runner-up finish at 195 pounds.  Couture was competing as a 24-year old sergeant on the U.S. Army's team that had a number of entrants in the event. 

"It was probably my biggest win in college, but I didn't even know it at the time," explained Rufolo.  "It wasn't until about 15 years later before I realized it. 



"I was with Eric Phillips and Brett Gustafson at one of our homecomings and they had out the old booklets.  We were flipping through the results, and I remembered that tournament.  Someone asked me who did I beat and we saw his name. 

"I still get people who come up to make and say, "You're the guy who beat Randy Couture."

Couture went on to wrestle at Oklahoma State after being discharged from the Army, where he was a two-time NCAA Finalist.  He then had a very successful mixed martial arts career, where he competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

As big as that win was, Rufolo had plenty more during his time at UTC.  He came to the Scenic City from Florham Park, N.J., where he quickly adapted to the south.

"The assistant coach told me he would meet me at the airport," recalled Rufolo.  "The only airport I was familiar with at the time was Newark, which was huge.  You can't just find someone there.  I wasn't sure how he was going to find me at the airport.

"I remember riding around in Coach Morgan's pickup truck.  It was the first time I had ever been in a pickup truck.  Luckily, I had three other guys who were Yankees who were rooming with me."

Rufolo ended up being the only true freshman starter on an '84 team that had tied for 14^th at the NCAAs the year before.  He jumped into a lineup that included some all-time greats like Charlie Heard, Billy Moss and John Feldhacker.

"My freshman year, the Southern Open was a tournament that we hosted over Thanksgiving," recalled Rufolo.  "It wasn't as big as the Southern Scuffle, but it was a well-known tournament.  I won my first dual and won the first round of the Southern Open.

"That tournament I beat a kid from Tennessee who was ranked No. 8 in the country.  We didn't have the Internet and we didn't know everyone back then.  The next week I was reading the Amateur Wrestling News in the van on the way to a match, and I saw that guy was ranked No. 8 in the country.  That was verification that I can do this and I can compete with these guys."
 
After advancing to the SoCon finals as a freshman, Ethan Reeve took over for Jim Morgan as head coach of the Mocs in the 1984-85 season, and Rufolo continued to show that he belonged among the best in the country.  He won the SoCon title at 190 pounds in 1985, advancing to the NCAAs for the first time. 

He was injured in 1986, but won titles again in 1987 and 1988.  He also helped the Mocs to three SoCon Tournament Team Championships during his career.

The last title is one of the more memorable ones in school history.  The Mocs had edged Appalachian State by a half-point in 1986, a quarter-point in 1987, and were expecting another dogfight at the '88 tournament in Davidson, N.C.

Heavyweight starter and Hall of Famer Chris Thornbury had battled a staph infection leading up to the tournament, which looked to be a crushing blow for Chattanooga's hopes.  He was able to compete, but lost early.  However, the other nine Mocs all made it to the finals, with seven taking home trophies.



UTC's 110 points were the most they had ever posted at the SoCon Championships and is still the third-highest total in school history.

"We had a great team and we knew that we could do some things," stated Rufolo.  "That senior year was a really fun time."

"That was the best experience I ever had.  I was seeded first and pinned all three guys I wrestled.  We had it clinched after the semifinals, but I enjoyed watching the other guys.
 
"Tom Herring was seeded second or third and won. Scott Corcoran was seeded fourth, Brett Gustafson was third.  Watching Tom Sell, who had to beat a kid who was ranked, was great.  We all just wrestled so well and it just snowballed from there."

UTC was 15-1 in dual matches, with its only loss to Clemson 17-15 in 1987-88.  It is still the best record in the school's Division I history.  The Mocs went on to finish tied for 27^th at the NCAAs.  Rufolo had his best season with a 25-8 record, spending the year ranked in the top-15 in the country.

Rufolo and the rest of the 2018 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame Class is being inducted on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.  The entire group will also be honored at halftime of the men's basketball game against Wofford on Saturday, Feb. 17.