Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart is retiring.

Hart and the university announced Thursday that Hart, 67, will step down from his position next summer. His retirement is effective June 30, 2017.

The news comes two months after UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek revealed he would be stepping down to return to teaching.

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“Dave’s greatest accomplishment is making UT a student-athlete-focused department. His drive for comprehensive excellence has touched all facets of athletics. Our student athletes have the highest overall grade point average in the history of the program, exceeding a 3.0 and fundraising is having a record year. He has restructured the department for greater efficiency and created a long-term sustainable financial model,” Cheek said in a statement.

“Dave has worked with our coaches to make us nationally competitive. He has focused on compliance and doing things the right way in the classroom and on the field. His work and determination have put UT sports in a strong position for the future.”

Hart was hired by UT in 2011 and his tenure has been up-and-down. He led the completion of the consolidation of the men’s and women’s programs in 2012, dropping athletic department positions in a cost-cutting measure as the department’s reserves fell. Record donations and SEC revenue distribution replenished the stability of the department’s finances.

After the Vols football program fell off the map under Derek Dooley, Hart hired Butch Jones, who has revitalized the program leading into the 2016 season — one where the Vols are the favorites in the SEC East. In basketball, Hart made the disastrous hire of Donnie Tyndall (after Cuonzo Martin bailed following a Sweet 16 appearance), who was fired after one season when NCAA violations surfaced from his time at Southern Miss. He then brought in Rick Barnes from Texas. Hart also oversaw the transition in women’s basketball from the legendary Pat Summitt to Holly Warlick.

In July, Tennessee reached a $2.48 million settlement in a Title IX lawsuit involving its handling of sexual assault allegations. The suit alleged the school “created a student culture that enables sexual assaults by student-athletes, especially football players, and then uses an unusual, legalistic adjudication process that is biased against victims who step forward.”

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Hart, along with Cheek and other administrators, were criticized in the lawsuit, which was filed by eight anonymous women, seven of whom made assault claims against UT student-athletes.

“As I thought about finishing this job well and how extremely proud I am of what everyone in our department has contributed collectively to get us to where we are today, I decided that this was a good time to set a target to wrap up my career as a Director of Athletics,” Hart said in a statement.

“Our University will name a new Chancellor at some point prior to the conclusion of the academic year which has just begun. This decision will allow that individual to select his or her own person to this leadership role and allow me to lead us through what promises to be a very exciting upcoming year in many respects. The positive energy is tangible, not only in our building, but among Volunteer fans everywhere. That is very gratifying to witness.”

Before his time at Tennessee, Hart was an athletic administrator at Alabama, East Carolina and Florida State.

For more Tennessee news, visit VolQuest.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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