Tennessee announced early Thursday that athletic director Dave Hart will retire June 30, 2017.
"Dave's greatest accomplishment is making UT a student-athlete-focused department," said Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek. "His drive for comprehensive excellence has touched all facets of athletics."
Cheek announced earlier in the summer that he's also stepping down in 2017.
Hart's decision, on some level, is likely tied to that.
Tennessee introduced Hart, 67, as its athletic director in September 2011, meaning he led the athletic department during a time when men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin left UT for California, in part, because Martin didn't feel like Hart publicly or privately supported him properly when fans launched a petition to fire Martin and replace him with former Vols coach Bruce Pearl.