CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Colette Murray, who ran the women’s golf program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for close to two decades, has taken the school to federal court over her firing last fall.
The complaint was filed Oct. 7 in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga. Murray led the team from 2006 until UTC let her go in the middle of the October 2025 season.
She says the dismissal followed repeated requests that athletic leaders close gaps between the women’s and men’s golf programs. Her concerns covered scholarship money, the team budget and what her assistant coach was paid. According to the suit, administrators reacted with hostility and set new performance benchmarks for her before she was let go.
UTC told her on Oct. 9, 2025, that she was being terminated for not disclosing details of an injury complaint from a former player. Murray rejects that explanation and says nobody showed her the complaint or let her answer it before the firing became public. She also argues the school broke its own policies by never telling her the meeting was a pre-termination session. That same day, the suit says, the wife of the men’s coach was introduced as the new women’s coach despite never having been a head coach.
Murray claims retaliation, sex discrimination and a hostile workplace under Title IX, along with breach of contract and due process violations. She also accuses UTC of refusing to cover her in a separate suit the former player brought. She wants her job back or front pay in its place, plus lost wages, damages and attorney fees. A university spokesperson said UTC does not comment on pending litigation.