Lincoln warned us long ago that this, too, would pass, and unfortunately it seems he knew all too well what he was talking about. As of today, there is officially one fewer idiot being paid by the University of Tennessee (well, at least one fewer being employed by the university, anyway). Per ESPN:
Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton announced Tuesday he decided to resign so the Volunteers would have a "clean slate" when they go before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions later in the week.
Hamilton, who has been at the helm of Tennessee men's athletics for eight seasons, said it was both a personal decision and one that he hoped would help reunite the Vols fanbase. During a three-year period, Hamilton fired a popular coach, hired a controversial one and now the athletic department faces 12 NCAA infractions against the football and basketball programs.
The departure of Hamilton has to be considered a major blow to all of us who hope that university would just go rot in hell, or at the very least spend a century or two as a laughingstock. The tenure of Hamilton brought the decline of the Vols football program, the firing of Phil Fulmer, the hiring of Lane Kiffin, the hiring of Bruce Pearl, Hostess-gate, Derek Dooley, Notices of Allegation, all the good stuff that is Christmas-come-early to anyone who loathes Tennessee.
Given the disarray that university has been in for years now I say with total confidence that they'll completely botch the replacement hire -- please let it be Fulmer, please let it be Fulmer -- but Hamilton's successor will be hard-pressed to live up to the high standard set by the Ears Whitworth of athletic directors. Even if we somehow could infiltrate the UT athletic department with a spy secretly working to destroy the university, I'm not even sure he could have as much success in doing so as Hamilton had.