Chattanooga, on its official athletics site, makes it clear that its nickname of Mocs does not mean moccasin or mockingbird. The school's nickname was Moccasins until 1996, which was represented by Chief Moccanooga, an exaggerated Cherokee tribesman. The nickname was taken from Moccasin Bend, a sharp bend in the Tennessee River west of the city. During the 1960s and 1970s, a moccasin (the footwear, not the snake) was actually used as the school's logo.

In 1996, due in large part to concerns over ethnic sensitivity, the Moccasins name was dropped, and the Mocs nickname adopted. The main athletics logo features the school's mascot, "Scrappy" (an anthropomorphized mockingbird), riding a train (a reference to Chattanooga's history as a major railroad hub, and to the song "Chattanooga Choo Choo"). The mascot takes its name from former football coach A.C. "Scrappy" Moore.