Todd Raleigh remembers how hot it was that summer night at the Burger King in Cullowhee, N.C.

He wiped away the sweat as he neared the end of one adventure and prepared to begin another.

The kid from Swanton, Vt., - three miles from the Canada border - had just hitchhiked his way to a new four-year home at Western Carolina University.

"It was kind of crazy," Tennessee's first-year baseball coach said. "It took me a couple of days to get there and school didn't start for three or four days.

"I didn't have anywhere to stay and I met these guys at the Burger King who said I could stay at their frat house."

It was the beginning of what would eventually be 14 years of his life spent as a player, assistant coach and head coach at Western Carolina.

Things come full circle tonight.

The Catamounts (19-24) visit the Vols (25-19) for a mid-week game beginning at 7 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Emotions will be in overdrive for Raleigh.

The journey

Raleigh's association with Western Carolina began with a strange twist of fate.

Jack Leggett, who coaches at Clemson, had recruited Raleigh's older brother, John.

"Coach Leggett is from Vermont and used to coach at the University of Vermont," Raleigh said. "He recruited John, but John ended up going to Central Florida where he played one year, got sick with Hodgkin's Disease and came home.

"Coach Leggett used to visit my brother in the hospital in Burlington."

Raleigh's brother eventually passed away from cancer, but Leggett's kindness left a lasting impression on Raleigh.

After earning high school all-state honors, Raleigh knew he wanted to continue playing baseball.

"I knew I wanted to go South to play and I didn't have any offers," Raleigh said. "So I called up coach Leggett who was then at Western Carolina. He remembered me, but he didn't really recruit me.

"He said he would give me a tryout if I came down."

That's all Raleigh needed to hear. He packed his gear, got a ride from a high school friend part of the way and hitchhiked the rest of the way.

"We were driving in at night and (Cullowhee, N.C.) was all lit up and I was thinking this place looks pretty nice," Raleigh said. "I woke up the next day and said, 'There's nothing here.'

"I just remember it being very, very hot. Being from Vermont, it seemed like it was smoking."

The Catamount days

It didn't take Raleigh long to impress Leggett.

Just the fact Raleigh had hitchhiked his way into the mountains of North Carolina spoke volumes.

"That just shows what he's all about," Leggett told UT when Raleigh was hired. "He came to Western Carolina sight-unseen, no scholarship, just wanting an opportunity.

"He's just blue-collar. What you see is what you get. That's why I've got so much respect for him. He's never had anything handed to him, and he hasn't expected any handouts in his whole life. He gets by on work ethic and being honest, and looking you in the eye."

Raleigh spent 1988-1991 as a player for Leggett.

He had 78 RBIs as a senior and was named the Catamounts' most valuable player.

His brother Matt followed him to Western Carolina as a player and is head coach of the Carolina Mudcats minor league baseball team.

Raleigh eventually returned to Western Carolina as an assistant (1993-94) and was the Catamounts head coach 2000-2007.

"I spent a lot of time there and was fortunate enough to win championships there as a player, an assistant and a head coach," he said. "There's nothing but positive memories for me about that place. I loved it there and spent 14 years of my life there."

Not just another game

Raleigh knows exactly how the Catamounts will try to greet him tonight.

"I think they're going to try to stick it to us," he said. "I know those guys. I know they're competitive.

"I know they won 42 games and went to the NCAA regional championship last year. I know they're a good team."

All those players he recruited to Cullowhee now get a chance to take a swing at their old coach.

"I think they're all happy for me," Raleigh said. "There's no resentment or anything like that, but going against your old coach they'll probably have a little extra bounce in their step.

"For me, I just want to win the game. I've got pride, too, and I don't want anybody coming in here to beat us.

"But if I said this wouldn't be a little different for me, I'd by lying. It's not just another game."

Raleigh has mixed feelings on scheduling Western Carolina. He was on the other side of things when he couldn't get a lot of schools to play the Catamounts.

"I'm stupid for scheduling them," he said. "I have nothing in the world to gain.

"If you win it, you're supposed to win it. If you don't, your old team came in and got you. I don't care. I'm a competitor and we'll just play the game.

"All I know is it's going to be very strange to see those colors in a different dugout."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.