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Former UT athletic director John Currie hired by Wake Forest

John Currie, athletic director at the University of Tennessee at the time, speaks to Time Free Press staff members in the newspaper's office in June 2017. Currie is set to take over as AD at Wake Forest, his alma mater, later this year.
John Currie, athletic director at the University of Tennessee at the time, speaks to Time Free Press staff members in the newspaper's office in June 2017. Currie is set to take over as AD at Wake Forest, his alma mater, later this year. John Currie, athletic director at the University of Tennessee at the time, speaks to Time Free Press staff members in the newspaper's office in June 2017. Currie is set to take over as AD at Wake Forest, his alma mater, later this year.

By Associated Press 2 min read

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman is retiring, and the school has chosen former Tennessee AD John Currie to replace him.

University president Nathan Hatch announced the moves Sunday, saying Wellman will retire and Currie will start on May 1.

“John is the perfect fit to follow in the footsteps of his mentor,” Hatch said.

Wellman, the longest-tenured AD in NCAA Division I, has led Wake Forest’s athletic department since 1992. The school has won five team national championships and seven individual titles under his watch, including men’s tennis in 2018, while raising $400 million in donations during his tenure of nearly 27 years.

The 47-year-old Currie is a Wake Forest alumnus who was Kansas State’s AD from 2009 to 2017. He spent much of the latter year at Tennessee before he was suspended in the midst of the search to replace football coach Butch Jones that turned into a fiasco. He received a $2.5 million settlement with the school in March 2018.