Last week, the University of Tennessee Athletic Department announced a nearly $4 million deficit. This was a sharp contrast to the last couple years when UT was one of just a handful of schools in the country that turned a profit.
10 Sports' Kris Budden sat down with UT Athletic Director Dave Hart to discuss a variety of topics regarding the budget.
In their conversation, Hart said the current model was not working, which led to several changes within the department. Last April, he eliminated close to 20 jobs. Hart says streamlining those positions will save the department $2.5 million.
With the recent deficit, UT had to dip into its reserve, which now sits at about $2 million. Hart said that is way too low. Other schools in the SEC have reserves up to $100 million.
Moving into the 2012-2013 budget calendar, Hart says they will cut the budget by $5 million.
While Hart is focus on saving money, he will not cut back on recruiting. Tennessee spends more on recruiting than any other public FBS school in the nation. Hart said you can not compare them to other schools, because Tennessee does not have the same talent within the state that other schools have.