Reports: Tennessee finally hires new AD, lands John Currie of Kansas State
Tennessee’s long search for an athletic director to replace the departing Dave Hart has reportedly come to an end.
According to Jimmy Hyams of Knoxville radio station WNML, Tennessee will hire Kansas State AD John Currie for the same role in Knoxville:
BREAKING NEWS: Source: John Currie of Kansas State has been hired as Tennessee's new athletic director.
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) February 28, 2017
Brett McMurphy of ESPN is also reporting the hire:
Kansas State’s John Currie is Tennessee’s new AD, source told @ESPN. 1st reported by @JimmyHyams
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) February 28, 2017
Currie got his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest in 1993 but earned his Masters in Sports Management from Tennessee in 2003. Currie served as an associate athletic director under Mike Hamilton from 1997-2009. Currie has been Kansas State’s athletic director since leaving Tennessee in 2009.
According to his Kansas State bio, Currie has helped elevate the Kansas State program since his arrival in 2009.
K-State has experienced a tremendous turnaround, unprecedented athletic and academic accomplishments and perhaps the most successful seven-year period in department history.
Currie also oversaw the completion of a $210 million in facility upgrades at Kansas State. Under his watch, the Wildcats have won Big 12 championships in football, men’s basketball, baseball, and have gone to 16 NCAA tournaments combined in men’s and women’s basketball.
Currie has also won two athletic director awards at Kansas State, as he took home the 2013 Bobby Dodd AD Award and the 2013 UnderArmour AD of the Year.
Follow@MichaelWBratton
What happened with Fulmer and Blackburn?
I am with you… what happen to getting someone with Orange blood?
SH!TTY Hire…No. 2 man to former athletic director Mike Hamilton
First Re-action.. Maybe not so bad, still reading his Bio…
I think that was a lot of peoples reaction, but he was with UT for quite some time before K-state, and has done a good job there (K-State). As far as being under Hamilton, a lot of people forget that Blackburn was as well. I completely understand where some reservations are coming from, but just because he was under him, doesn’t mean he’ll be Hamilton 2.0.
Nice hire… has a reputation for doing what ADs are supposed to do and doesnt try to take over the press conference like a lot of them do. The best AD is never heard from outside of internal management.
This looks like a good hire. He has a masters from UT and spent many years in the athletic department here. That’s what we needed, someone with true ties to TN.
“Sorry about your luck Phil”…
Signed Albert Means