What if the University of Tennessee’s gain is about to become the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s loss regarding athletic directors?
What if Big Brother Big Orange does what it should and hires current UTC athletic director David Blackburn to run the program that UT’s Dave Hart announced he was retiring from, effective June 30, 2017?
After all, Blackburn worked in Tennessee’s athletic department in one capacity or another for more than 20 years. He was there for the football team’s glory days in the 1990s, as well as legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Head Summitt’s eight national championships in basketball.
He likewise deserves at least partial credit, along with former UTC athletic director Rick Hart – Dave’s son – and Mocs football coach Russ Huesman (who was hired by Hart) for the sustained rise of UTC football in recent years, including sharing or winning outright the Southern Conference title the past three seasons.
More than that, look at Blackburn’s three basketball coaching hires – former coach Will Wade (now at VCU) and current coach Matt McCall for the UTC men’s team and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Jim Foster – and try to explain why that doesn’t scream of someone ready to succeed at his profession’s highest level, which is basically any Southeastern Conference school but especially one as storied as Tennessee.