Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart 'as intense and involved as ever'
Dave Hart isn't polishing his golf game in Florida. He isn't on a cruise ship sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it. He isn't even counting down the days to retirement yet.
Hart might be a lame-duck athletic director at the University of Tennessee, but he said Tuesday he's conducting business as usual.
"Nothing has changed,'' Hart said in an interview with the News Sentinel. "Not only has nothing changed, I’ve only had one moment, honestly, when I’ve fallen into a reflection. And that was at the end of the (Music City) bowl game. It was driven by a number of players who came up to me and said some really nice things.
"Other than that moment, my focus hasn’t shifted one bit.''
Hart announced on Aug. 18 he would retire, effective June 30, or sooner if a replacement is named. He has largely been out of the spotlight as UT searched for a new chancellor for the Knoxville campus and speculation bubbled about who would be Hart's successor.
The answer to that question is still unresolved. UT hired Dr. Beverly Davenport in December to replace Jimmy Cheek as chancellor. Davenport reports Feb. 15. Despite rumors to the contrary, the official search for the new AD is only beginning.
Any perception that Hart – and the athletic department – has been on cruise control is off base, he said.
"The narrative developed that we’ve been in a search since August,'' Hart said. "That’s not true.
"I'm just as intense and involved as I've ever been.''
Hart said when he decided to retire he asked for assurance that he wouldn't be a figurehead in the interim until he walks out the door, whenever that is.
"They didn't even let me finish my sentence,'' Hart said. "I am fully empowered until the day the new chancellor has made a decision on the new athletic director.''
That could come as early as March but perhaps not until May. In the meantime there are coaches and athletes to support and projects to finish. Hart said the only thing he would not do was hire administrative staff. Two key executive-level aides have left the department for promotions. Chris Fuller left in late 2016 for Syracuse. Jon Gilbert was introduced Tuesday as the new athletic director at Southern Mississippi.
Hart said Fuller's duties have been absorbed by others, as will be the case with Gilbert's responsibilities after he leaves.
"We have not missed a beat,'' Hart said. "We're blessed with excellent people here.''
If the situation required it, Hart said he would not hesitate to act on a coaching scenario. Outside the building at least, there were concerns through the football season about facing the December coaching carousel with a lame-duck AD.
As things turned out, there was no drama with coach Butch Jones. A 9-4 finish was sufficient to stay on solid ground but not good enough to attract suitors with desirable openings.
"Butch Jones in my eye doesn’t need a vote of confidence,'' Hart said. "I have all the faith in the world in Butch and what he’s done.
"I get it, Butch gets it. He was disappointed, I was disappointed, just like everybody else, we didn’t win the (SEC) East. We got beat by Vanderbilt and that cost us a Sugar Bowl.
"Nobody is running and hiding from those facts. But on balance, you’ve got to let the emotion run out of that and then do an assessment based on the bigger picture.
"The job Butch has done here is impressive. I see it every day. We’re chasing another top-10 recruiting class. So, I remain staunchly supportive of Butch in what he’s accomplished.''
Hart also remains staunchly supportive of his two basketball coaches, Rick Barnes and Holly Warlick.
While he won't speculate on the process of finding his replacement, Hart believes the new chancellor will make a good hire and will relate well to the athletic department going forward.
Davenport is finishing a term as interim president at the University of Cincinnati. Hart spent about 90 minutes with her during her campus visit last week.
"She does understand the importance of athletics and the passion,'' Hart said. "I told her this fan base is the most passionate fan base I've ever been around. I said, 'now what you have to understand and accept is that can manifest itself in a variety of ways.' But I told her she's going to enjoy this fan base. They've unbelievably patient and loyal.''