Univ. of Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton announced his resignation yesterday after nearly eight years, and UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said that he "expects to name a replacement within the next six to eight weeks," according to a front-page piece by Andrew Gribble of the Knoxville NEWS-SENTINEL. Cheek said that an interim AD "will be named later in the week." Hamilton's resignation "does not go into effect until the end of the month," and he "will still represent the UT athletic department Saturday and field questions about 12 major violations in men's basketball and football from the NCAA Committee on Infractions." Hamilton cited "numerous reasons, all of which circled back to the department's lingering investigation by the NCAA, for his decision to walk away from the university." According to his separation agreement, Hamilton "will receive $1.335 million in buyout money over the next three years." He also "has rights to eight lifetime complimentary season tickets for UT football and men's basketball, as well as two parking permits for each sport" (Knoxville NEWS-SENTINEL, 6/8). A major UT booster said that he "learned through discussions with the UT administration that the school does not want an AD with previous ties to the school." Cheek said that he "will put together a search committee ... to interview and research candidates" (Knoxville NEWS-SENTINEL, 6/8). UT women's basketball coach Pat Summitt said that she is "not interested in filling UT's athletic director position, neither on an interim basis nor full-time." Cheek said that he hopes to have a permanent hire made "by the start of football season" (Knoxville NEWS-SENTINEL, 6/8).
WHAT TOOK SO LONG? ESPN.com's Pat Forde wrote Hamilton "stepped down a solid three months after he should have, when the NCAA notice of allegations was made public and his department was charged with violations in both men's basketball and football." Hamilton's resignation "feels less like the outcome of a conviction to do the right thing than a rush-job coat of paint on a shabby house just hours before you're showing it to a suspicious buyer" (ESPN.com, 6/7). CBSSPORTS.com's Jeff Goodman wrote under the header, "While A Certainty, Hamilton's Tennessee Departure Is Late." Goodman: "This should have been done a while ago. ... Athletic directors need to be held accountable for their hires -- and that doesn't mean giving Hamilton $1.3 million to walk away, either" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/7).
