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http://www.rockytopinsider.com/2016/08/18/ad-dave-hart-retire-2017 (http://www.rockytopinsider.com/2016/08/18/ad-dave-hart-retire-2017)

Hope he has lots of "use it or lose it" personal time banked so he can get the hell out a lot sooner than June 30. 

Like to see them hire Blackburn....But the history of UT says they will most likely hire the volleyball coach at Motlow State.

Blackburn should be a slam dunk.  Maybe they can make a "splashier" hire, but I don't think they can make a better hire.  Sometimes the safe and obvious choice is also the best choice.

Don't get all the Hart haters. I think he did a good job cleaning up Hamilton's mess, which was an epic mess to be sure.

He also created a few messes of his own.  Fortunately he's not leaving them for the next guy to clean up, like his predecessor did.

True. But I feel both major men's programs are on the way up.   Women's Bball is stagnant, but honestly, how do you replace a legend?  Other sports...CGAS.   :biggrin:

Actually not true.  I want the other sports to do well, but don't keep up with them.  Tennessee in the past has been great at swimming and track, so I hope those are doing well even though I don't follow them.

If I could pick one non-revenue sport to win a championship, I would pick softball.  I still remember the Monica Abbott days when we were basically the pied piper of the SEC.  We'd lose only 2-3 games all season- but since at the time, the SEC was not respected AT ALL, we'd get some ridiculously low seeds in the tourney.  I think the fact that we overcame those seeds for a few second and third place finishes paved the way for the SEC to overtake the Pac 10 in terms of national respect.  Now SEC programs are getting the respect and seeds they deserve and winning titles.  We don't have one yet, so I kind of feel like we're "owed" some hardware.  If the Weeklys continue to recruit well, I think it will happen sooner or later.

I don't think Hart was as bad as a lot of fans seem to think, but he created a lot of his problems for himself.

Maybe Hart is part of a legit problem that led to the Title IX lawsuit or maybe he isn't, but I thought he handled the lawsuit itself very well. He also improved revenue and the football program is worlds better than when he took over.

On the other hand, the football program is worlds better because of Butch Jones, and Jones was Hart's 3rd choice. Hart's 1st choice is on his way out the door at Texas. And it can easily be argued that revenue has only improved because Hart stumbled into his 3rd choice for football.

Basketball is a hot mess, and while that mess wasn't Hart's making, he also hasn't done anything to improve it. You can't really blame Hart for Tyndall's SoMiss scandal because by all appearances he was properly vetted and it truly came as a surprise to everyone involved. At the same time, Tyndall was already an NCAA violator when Hart hired him, and should big-name college basketball programs really be taking chances on past offenders?

Ultimately, Hart's biggest transgression was the Lady Vols brand. Maybe it should've been done, maybe it shouldn't have. But Hart gave the impression of selling out to a corporate giant (Nike) despite the objections of thousands of women who poured their souls into the UT women's program. That was never going to go over well and if he deemed it important enough to override those objections, he knew that he was falling on his sword in so doing. Same with Coach Summitt. It was time for her to hang it up, but forcing her out was not going to be perceived well...ever.

My biggest beef with Hart is the baseball program. He didn't hire Serrano but he also hasn't fired him. As dominant as the SEC is in baseball, it is a perpetual embarrassment that our program is as weak as it is.