A six-month search for Tennessee’s next AD has led to the hiring of John Currie from Kansas State, sources say. An announcement from UT is expected later today. Currie will replace outgoing AD Dave Hart, whose contract runs through June 30. The hire returns Currie to the UT campus where he worked as an assistant and deputy AD for a decade. He left the school to take the AD job at K-State in '09. UT's search, which was led by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, included talks with UT-Chattanooga Vice Chancellor & AD David Blackburn and former football coach Phil Fulmer, while recent reports had also touched on North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham and former NFL Panthers President Danny Morrison. Currie nearly a year ago signed a contract extension at K-State that ran through '22 at a reported $775,000 per year. During his tenure, Currie oversaw a massive renovation to Bill Snyder Family Stadium and the construction of a basketball practice facility as part of $210M worth of upgrades on his watch. He was known for insisting on transparency, to the point that he carried cards with the Wildcats’ annual budget printed on them. Currie also instituted the “Welcome to K-State” mantra, which was repeated by stadium workers as fans entered the stadium. Currie was an SBJ/SBD "Forty Under 40" selection in '11.
