University of Tennessee Athletics
Up Close: Dave Hart
October 04, 2011 | General
Oct. 4, 2011
New vice chancellor/director of athletics Dave Hart sat down with the Vol Network's Bob Kesling last Friday to discuss his vision for Tennessee athletics, merging the men's and women's departments, conference expansion and more.
I know it's been a hectic time for you since you arrived, you haven't had time to catch your breath have you?
Dave Hart: "No, but it's been so positive, Bob, people have been so wonderful. Everyone has reached out to try to assist the transition, which is complex in nature, as you know, but I've enjoyed every second of being at the University of Tennessee, and I look forward to a lot of years of enjoyment."
You had a transitional period between when you left Alabama and when you started here at Tennessee, but I know you were working every day of that.
Hart: "I was, just now before coming over here to talk to you it was `form morning,' so I had a lot of forms to be legalized here at the university. I'd been trying to put that off as long as I could, but there were just a lot of prongs to the transition, both personally and professionally, but, again, people have been wonderful in reaching out to assist."
As a veteran in this business you've been in a lot of places. Each one is unique and has its own set of challenges. What do you see the challenges being here at the University of Tennessee?
Hart: "Well, I'll get to the challenges here in a moment, but I see so many positives. The rich tradition, the history, these facilities that have been upgraded to first-class, the passion that is everywhere, I love the passion. "I think the challenges are to heal some obvious wounds that are out there so we can bring everybody together with a very positive attitude and in a positive direction."
You played in this conference as an athlete, you've been in this conference as an administrator, and you've seen this conference from afar. Give us your thumbnail view of what you've seen of Tennessee all these years from a distance.
Hart: "To reiterate what I've said, that's been my perception over the years, that the University of Tennessee has such a unique tradition, and you can't invent that, you can't put a value on it. There aren't too many places in the nation where you go to a stadium with 100,000 people in the stadium watching a game.
"Blood, sweat and tears went into this program, a lot of people contributed to where we find ourselves today, and that's why I wanted to build a bridge, not that there isn't a bridge, but to reinforce it from the past to the future. In the Southeastern Conference we should be and will be competing on a regular basis for championships and in that upper echelon, because when you compete in the upper echelon of this conference, then you're competing nationally in the upper echelon."
You used the word compete about three times in that sentence and that's what this is all about, competition, but this is a great conference and everybody wants to beat the other guy.
Hart: "There's no question, and that goes back to the passion of the fans, the student-athletes, and the people that care about and love the universities in the Southeastern Conference."
You've had to go through and look at the athletic department, and I guess one of the big things you have to do is merge the two athletic departments. How big of a job is that?
Hart: "I think it's a big job, because I had the opportunity recently at the annual athletic director's conference in Dallas to talk to four ADs who have merged programs, and that was really beneficial and helpful to me. Because they went through it, and they lived it and they talked to me about things they did well and maybe some things they would have done differently if they had to do it over again.
"As I said to our staff recently, that's not a one-person job. That's going to be a lot of people, a lot of input and a lot of assessment to see what we want to look like at the end. But it goes back to what I said earlier, we're the University of Tennessee, and at the end of the day, we'll continue to take great pride in the accomplishments of our programs, men's and women's. We've been blessed here to have some of those teams compete at the top of that national pyramid, and we want to pursue comprehensive excellence.
"A road to be travelled, input to be gained, but at the end of the day, I want people to look back and feel good about the transition into one program."
The NCAA Investigations that have hung over this program are concluded, you know what the findings are. That's got to be a relief to you and the whole program.
Hart: "I think it is. I think, clearly, because of the unknown, the shroud that any investigation of that nature puts around the program. And it affects everyone, the student-athletes, the coaches, the fan base, the alumni.
"So to have that behind you, now, we have no margin for error. And that has to be our number one priority, to create an atmosphere of compliance. From everybody that works at the University, from every donor that we have to people that love this program so much. Because that can bring the whole house down. That will be a constant priority."
Obviously, you would not have taken this job had you not thought this was a great place with a lot of potential. Where do you want to see Tennessee, what do you want Tennessee to become in the coming years.
Hart: "We are and should see ourselves as a top program in the country. I'll go back to what I said as a simplistic goal. Having everyone recover from the negative vibes that may have existed for a variety of reasons over the last two or three years and to come back together in celebration that we've got programs who are operating within those parameters from a compliance perspective. We've got student-athletes that achieving at the highest level academically. We've got teams that people don't want to play. I think that's where I'd like to see us."
What are your views on SEC expansion, already Texas A&M is in the league, where do you see this thing headed?
Hart: "First and foremost, I think it's very exciting to have Texas A&M in the league, and they're as excited as we are to be members of the SEC. Nobody knows where it will go from here.
"I think that will be driven by the best guy you can put it in that hand of, that's Mike Slive. He'll be deliberate, and he'll assess, and he'll get input, kind of like I said with our staff where we're going. Then, at the appropriate time, decisions will be made."
It's exciting to be here, you feel the energy, you're going to be here to experience game day and the experience of fall here, and I know you're excited about being here and getting your family here.
Hart: "I think the key word is energy. I'm excited to be here, and I can bring some energy and we'll see lots of energy (Saturday), it's going to be a beautiful day for football. They must have put you in charge of the weather for tomorrow."
Dave, thanks for your time, we're glad to have you here at Tennessee and best of luck to you.
Hart: "Thank you, it's my pleasure to be a part of this family."
