On June 19, 1969, the UT trustees adopted a final resolution of merger and on July 1, 1969, the University of Chattanooga became a primary campus of the University of Tennessee, as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Founded in 1886 by the Methodist Episcopal Church as Chattanooga University, it merged with Grant Memorial University at Athens in 1889 and was known as U. S. Grant University until it became the University of Chattanooga in 1907.
A bill establishing a campus of UT in Chattanooga had been presented by Hamilton County legislators in 1968 and was signed into law by Governor Ellington in March. The opening date for the new campus was to be fall 1971. A new campus of UT would present inevitable competition for the private University of Chattanooga, which was experiencing financial difficulties. Talks and negotiations between the UC Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee, UT representatives, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, community leaders, and state officials eventually resulted in UT President Andy Holt and UC Board of Trustees Chair Bill Brock signing a merger agreement on March 4, 1969, which was ratified by the full UT Board of Trustees on June 19. Chattanooga City College was acquired by UT on August 27, 1969, and merged into UTC. In response to requests from UC alumni to have their diplomas replaced by ones that bore the new institutional name, the UT Board of Trustees approved in December 1969 issuance of UTC diplomas to UC alumni requesting them.