When Dave Hart took over as Tennessee’s athletic director in 2011, there was a huge elephant in the room, and it didn’t come from Alabama, where he served in the athletic department for six years.
Tennessee football had to be fixed. The Vols had lost 14 of 16 SEC games the previous two years – the worst stretch in school history.
Attendance was down. Ticket sales were down. Apathy was replacing enthusiasm in the fan base.
Football was an obvious concern that Hart knew about.
But two other problems were hiding behind the curtain that Hart was unaware of: finances and academics.
Tennessee’s athletic department had a mere $1.9 million in reserve, last in the SEC by over $12 million. By comparison, Alabama’s reserve at that time exceeded $80 million, according to Hart.
Academically, Tennessee was on the verge of being banned for postseason plan in several sports because of a poor Academic Progress Rate, Hart said.
And in the spring of 2012, Tennessee had 30 football players on academic probation; 23 of which were on scholarship and nine of which were projected starters.
“The financial situation,’’ Hart said, “it was a crisis, and I won’t sugar coat that. We were desperately close to a solvency problem. That was a surprise and nobody knew it.’’
To fight the finances, Hart brokered at three-year deal with the University to not pay a $6 million donation during the summer at the beginning of the fiscal year – a savings of about $18 million. That athletic department gift had been a practice at UT for many years. UT also benefited from revenues derived from the SEC Network.
Hart also acknowledged that UT’s financial situation had an impact on some coaching decisions – in other words, he might have kept a struggling coach or two longer so as not to pay a bigger buyout or any buyout.
Then there were the grades of student-athletes.
“No one knew how much we had fallen off academically,’’ Hart said. “We were 13 out of 14 (SEC) schools in APR performance. We had three sports (including football) ready to face sanctions of a major variety because of our academics.
“It was a tough situation and a tough time.’’
Hart was also charged with completing the merger of the athletic departments. Tennessee and Arkansas were the last SEC teams to have separate men’s and women’s athletic departments. The merger caused some hurt feelings as some jobs were eliminated.
Hart said he was proud to play a hand in turning around football, finances and academics.
“It’s been very gratifying to see what this staff has done in pulling together in one direction,’’ Hart said. “We were able to push the ball up that hill.’’
What does Hart see as the biggest challenges facing athletic directors over the next five to 10 years?
“I think the next five to 10 years in intercollegiate athletics will be its most challenging in history because when you look at the NCAA, the NCAA has settled some lawsuits for a lot of dollars, they have been allocating one-time money earmarked for student-athletes,’’ Hart said.
Hart believes we will see more shifting of conference realignment.
He believes the current structure of postseason in football and basketball will be examined.
He also said social media has changed some dynamics.
“I tell our coaches, `This is the world we live in, embrace it. Don’t be upset about it. Don’t be thin-skinned about it,’’’ Hart said.
“People have a right to opinions in a world where they are more than willing to express them, particularly if they don’t have to identify themselves. But it’s the world we live in. Embrace it.
“This is an industry that is rapidly undergoing significant changes and I think it will take exceptional – not good – leadership on campuses and in athletic programs to stay ahead of the curve that is coming.’’
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
