John Currie letter to Vol Nation

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Good Afternoon, Big Orange Nation!

As we head into the home stretch of my first week on the job, I thought you might enjoy an update on some of my activities during what has been a busy, but very rewarding six days!

There have been lots of highlights for me, but perhaps the best was our special guest at our first all-department meeting early yesterday in the Tennessee Terrace at Neyland Stadium. On the podium were the two NCAA Championship trophies won last month by our UT junior sprinter and 2016 Olympian Christian Coleman. Remember that student-athletes and coaches should always be at the forefront of everything we do. Thus, before we got into the usual business stuff in our meeting, I asked Head Coach and Director of Track & Field Beth Alford-Sullivan to introduce Christian, and as he stepped to the podium, the entire athletic department - including every Tennessee head coach - rose to give him a standing ovation. It was an inspiring moment!

Christian was very gracious and humble in his comments as he spoke about turning his attention to a great outdoor season, which began this afternoon at the Tennessee Relays in LaPorte Stadium/Tom Black Track. Christian is running in the 100m at 3:40 p.m. on Friday, and he'll compete in two relay events Saturday. You can see the full schedule of Tennessee's outstanding men and women competing throughout all three days. I hope to see you there!

There have been lots of other highlights since I arrived last week, including traveling to Memphis with Chancellor Davenport on Friday where she gave an inspirational address at the Big Orange Gala scholarship fundraising event, followed by my first "official" day on the job on Saturday, April 1. Just after 7:30 Saturday morning, I pulled into campus and got to work, starting with a cup of coffee and a great chat in the Anderson Training Center with Coach Butch Jones. Shortly after that, Rick Russo of WVLT stopped by to say hello and produce this neat piece, which you may have seen on Twitter. I also had the pleasure on Saturday of meeting several parents of our current football players at Family Day at Neyland Stadium, I reacquainted myself with Lindsey Nelson Stadium for part of our baseball game against Georgia, and I also stopped by Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to watch some of our softball team's win over NC State.

Monday included attending my first meeting of Chancellor Davenport's Cabinet, the annual "Hike the Hill in Heels" event to raise awareness of sexual assault, and the opportunity to be introduced to the Faculty Senate by our outstanding Faculty Athletics Representative, Dr. Donald Bruce. Later, I visited our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee before wrapping up the day with my old friend Bob Kesling for an appearance on Vol Calls at Calhoun's on the river - where I enjoyed my first "Spinach Maria" in eight years!

On Tuesday morning, Dr. Joe Scogin brought me to our meet more awesome student-athletes who are growing and learning in our VOLeaders Academy program. I also enjoyed visiting Pratt Pavilion and meeting with our men's basketball team before taking in some football practice at Haslam Field. Wednesday I had two surprise visitors, as Coach Majors stopped by to say hello in the morning, and then Jason Witten came by later in the afternoon and we were able to sit down and catch up after he had visited with Coach Jones and spoken to our football squad. One of the first congratulatory texts I received when I was announced as your new athletics director on Feb. 28 was from Jason - we appreciate his and Michelle's continued, faithful support of their alma mater!

Our aforementioned all-staff meeting, during which we recognized Christian, led directly into my meeting with all of our head coaches. Arriving directly from a Wednesday morning class, senior rower Chandler Frumin addressed those coaches, as she recently was selected as an NCAA Women's Enhancement Graduate Scholarship recipient. That's a big deal, and what's more impressive is that Chandler is the third Tennessee rower in the last three years to earn a post-graduate scholarship! Chandler has aspirations for a career as an intercollegiate athletics administrator, and judging by her confidence addressing this collection of high-level head coaches, she's on her way!

I wrapped things up Wednesday afternoon by sitting down with the incredibly talented Hallerin Hilton Hill for this radio interview and then visiting with our men's golf team at the beautiful, riverfront Mack and Jonnie Day Practice Facility before stopping by the Wayne G. Basler Boathouse to speak to our rowers.

There is so much happening this time of year, and this weekend is no different. In addition to the Tennessee Relays, which I mentioned above, other home events in the coming days include men's tennis matches against South Carolina (Friday at 5 p.m.) and Florida (Sunday at 1 p.m.), a rowing Big 12 Double Dual event Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in Oak Ridge and a spring soccer match against Cincinnati Sunday at 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, our baseball and softball teams are playing road series at Florida and Kentucky, respectively, this weekend, while women's tennis competes at Missouri on Friday and at Arkansas on Sunday.

I have been asked a lot the last month about my first order of business. Well, it's pretty simple. I'm doing a lot of listening. I'm listening to our student-athletes, our coaches, staff and the people that support this program. It's important to reconnect with folks we have built relationships with, but we are excited about forming new, life-lasting relationships as well. Naturally, communication is critical to great relationships - and today we are debuting a couple new features!

First, every few weeks, you can expect a letter from me - similar to this one - updating you on current events in the department and around campus. We'll post the letters at UTSports.com/heyjohn and I'll tweet them from @John_Currie.

Second, in order to reach our true potential as an athletics program, we need the entire Big Orange Nation pushing in the same direction. On the "Hey John!" page, you can send me an email with your thoughts, suggestions and questions about our athletics program. Although it may take me a little while, I will read them all and endeavor to ensure a personal response.

On a sadder note, I do want to acknowledge the recent passing of respected UT professor Dr. Joy DeSensi. She was an influential mentor to thousands of students, including me, during my time in the Sports Management graduate program. She certainly will be missed and not forgotten.

Mary Lawrence, our three children - Jack, Virginia and Mary-Dell - and I are so looking forward to this new chapter and returning to a place we love and cherish so much. I'm honored to be your athletics director. It's a position and responsibility I don't take lightly, and I look forward to working alongside all of you in the future.

Over the past few weeks, I've been blown away by the extraordinary support from the community and the Tennessee fan base throughout the country. At the end of the day, we all have one thing in common. We love the University of Tennessee, and that is a great starting point as we build this relationship. My family and I share your high expectations and are honored to join you on the journey!

Go Big Orange!

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