UA Hires Dave Hart

by outsidethesidelines on Jul 30, 2008 5:19 PM CDT Comment 5 comments

After doing installments of the Franchione saga, apparently a lot of you guys like the "behind-the-scenes" stuff, and here's a new bit for you...

It is being reported by the Tuscaloosa News that UA has hired Dave Hart as an associate athletic director. Hart is an Alabama graduate, and played under C.M. Newton on the 1971 Alabama basketball team. He previously served as athletic director at Florida State from 1995-2007.

Interestingly enough, Hart was largely considered the frontrunner for the AD job when it came open at UA in 1995. He was the favorite candidate by most, and if I remember correctly Stallings himself actually said several years on down the road that he would have loved to have had Hart come on board. Unfortunately, Hart had UA ties and Sorensen wanted to go outside of the program, and hence Bockrath was hired.

Regardless of the history, this is a pretty big development. Hart would have taken the AD job had we offered over a decade ago, and he has 24 years of experience as an athletic director -- plus he is young enough to still have several years left in the tank. Things can change, of course, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he is ultimately promoted to AD once Mal decides to step aside.

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Things that make you go hummmmm

Can you say ‘Hit Man”. Hart will do what Mal didn’t have the courage to do.

by sonofchains on Jul 30, 2008 6:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ozzie Newsome

I’ve always heard rumours that Ozzie would be the new AD, and the question has even been posed to him. I’ve also heard that Mal Moore would be likely to step away sooner rather than later. Even given that Saban’s stays typically haven’t been long in any job, I’ve gotten the impression that Moore would probably leave prior to the end of Saban’s contract, even in the next year or two. I wonder if Saban had any input into this.

by Bobby Briggs on Jul 30, 2008 6:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Mal...

I would imagine that Mal would stick around for a couple of more years. I do think he’ll stay at least long enough to see the construction start on the south endzone, and he might stick around another 16-20 months to see it finished. I imagine that will be Mal’s last hoorah. Unless something major happens with Saban - leaves unexpectedly (which I do not expect), gets in trouble like Price, or has some unspeakable tragedy like Bo Rein - Mal has made his last coaching hire in the football program.

In the short term, the biggest impact of Hart will be on the Alabama basketball program. I would imagine that Mal will outsource the situation with Gottfried to Hart and let him be the main decision maker.

by outsidethesidelines on Jul 30, 2008 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sounds positive

This sounds like a positive step. Poor Mal Moore has looked pretty inept during his tenure as AD. Personally I would love to see Dave Hart and Ozzie Newsome work together, sharing the AD reponsibilities. I was one Alabama fan who was very upset that we didn’t hire Sylvester Croom instead of Mike Shula. I think Ozzie as AD would go a long way towards dispelling the negative (and unwarranted) stereotypes of the University (e.g. the Forrest Gump portrayal). Plus, having him as AD could only enhance the recruiting. And since Dave Hart has already proven himself at FSU, then it would be ideal to see them share the AD responsibilities- perhaps with Ozzie as the assistant AD who would be groomed to take over full responsibilities down the line. Just my thoughts. ROLL TIDE!

by CrimsonColoredGlasses on Jul 30, 2008 9:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs