KNOXVILLE - John Currie wants to hear from you.
The University of Tennessee athletic department launched an online portal called "Hey John!" on Thursday that allows fans to send messages to the new athletic director, who is emphasizing communication early in his time on the job.
"About eighty percent of what I do revolves around communication," the former Kansas State athletic director said in an interview on NewsTalk 98.7 in Knoxville this week. "It revolves around communication of expectations internally. It revolves around communicating to the people I work for and work with and the people I'm serving. It involves communication to our student-athletes. It involves communication with our fans."
The portal, accessed at utsports.com/heyjohn, was officially unveiled through another communication tactic that Currie will employ at Tennessee.
The athletic department posted a letter signed by Currie on its official website Thursday detailing his first week on the job and inviting fans to use the "Hey John!" feature to send Currie messages.
"Although it may take me a little while, I will read them all and endeavor to ensure a personal response," Currie wrote in the letter.
In a Monday interview on the "Vol Calls" radio show, Currie hinted that the "Hey John!" feature was coming and said, "I'll read all that stuff, because that's how I'll learn what's really in the heart of our people."
Currie spent more than a decade at Tennessee as a graduate student and athletic department official before leading the Kansas State athletic department for eight years. He officially started at UT on April 1.
His first week on the job featured meetings with faculty, coaches and athletes, but also several public and media appearances.
"Our fans are passionate," Currie said in the NewsTalk 98.7 interview. "They care and they want Tennessee to win, and they want our student-athletes to graduate. Part of me doing my thing is to be out in front, so people feel like they have someone they can communicate with."
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.