Director of Athletics
Florida State University
His peers use terms and words such as class, integrity, respect, visionary and national leader to describe Dave Hart, Jr. Bolstered by his leadership and vision, the current and future state of a still young athletics program at Florida State University is vibrant and inspiring. Hart is widely viewed as one of the nation's top athletics directors. It is a reputation he has earned.
Dave Hart enters his 10th year as Florida State's Athletics Director. Hart has led the FSU athletics program since 1995 with comprehensive success in mind. The athletics department budget has doubled from 20 to 40 million dollars since Hart arrived, with a high percentage of that increase going towards the growth and development of women's athletics programs at FSU. Student-athletes have reached new heights in academic performance within University, Conference and national circles. Community service participation by student-athletes is at an all-time high with every team giving back to the community throughout the year. Florida State student-athletes, coaches, administrators and teams are being recognized nationally on a regular basis for honors and awards. Excellence in competition is evidenced across the board with the Seminoles finishing 22nd nationally in the Directors' Cup this past year. Facility enhancements are remarkable and serve as a collective point of pride for current and former student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and fans.
In recognizing Hart's position within intercollegiate athletics, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said, "Dave Hart is one of the best and most respected athletics directors in the business. He thoroughly understands the nuances of major college athletics, and he has superb values to go along with his vast experience in the field. He is a proven leader within our conference as well as at the national level."
Hart has served on several prestigious committees at conference and national levels during his career in athletics administration. He has been a member of the NCAA Council, the NCAA Honors and Awards Committee and the NCAA Special Events and Postseason Bowls Committee as well as a consultant to the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
Hart has also held positions of considerable influence within conference and national circles. Hart served as a NACDA Executive Committee member from 1994-95 while at East Carolina University and from 1995-97 while at FSU. He then serves as third vice president, first vice president and president from 1997-2000. Additionally, Hart serves as president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association. He was honored by his peers in 2000 with the NACDA Athletics Director of the Year ward in the Southwest region. He has also received the Robert R. Neyland Award for lifetime achievement in his profession as well as the Athletics Directors' Award for advancing the quality and progress of student-athletes and the athletics program while at Florida State. He currently is a member of the NCAA Football Board of Directors where he serves with commissioners of Division I-A conferences as well as NCAA President, Myles Brand. He is also one of six athletics directors nationally who serve as an advisory group to presidents and conference commissioners in ongoing meetings and discussions regarding BCS format options and related issues. In addition to serving in prominent leadership roles nationally, Hart has been directly involved in the renegotiations of the ACC's football and basketball television contracts, which are considered to be the nation's best. He has chaired the ACC Television Committee as well as the ACC Men's Basketball and Football committees. A long-time advocate of conference expansion, Hart played an instrumental role in the Atlantic Coast Conference expansion process which resulted in the addition of three new members in Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College while immediately elevating the national profile of the ACC.
A popular speaker at the national level, Hart has made numerous speaking presentations nationally and presented seminars on such topics as student-athlete welfare, marketing, gender equity, facility master planning, negotiation skills and personnel transition. He has been an instructor annually at the NACDA Management Institute as well as the Division I-A Athletics Directors' Institute sharing with peers his knowledge and experiences relating to athletics administration.
Since his arrival at Florida State, Hart has negotiated unprecedented multi-million dollar contracts for the department totaling well in excess of 80 million dollars while planning and guiding the development and implementation of an extensive and comprehensive facilities master plan for athletics totaling more than 100 million dollars. He initiated a multi-faceted Student Development/Life Skills program for all student-athletes at FSU, which has been recognized nationally as a "Program of Excellence" by the Division I-A Athletics Directors' Association. He also spearheaded the rewriting of the department's mission statement to put the student-athlete at the core of everything the athletics department does in its goal to build comprehensive excellence throughout the many components of the department.
Hart took a leadership role in the athletics department's first major Capital Campaign, in concert with Seminole Boosters, which raised over 75 million dollars for athletics facilities and endowed athletics scholarships for all sports at Florida State. Within the Facilities Master Plan, the Soccer/Softball facility was the first new facility to be built and remains one of the nation's finest. Major renovations to the Tennis and Volleyball facilities have also been completed. The state-of-the-art Golf Facility and Teaching Center and the Basketball Training Center are now in place. The Dick Howser Baseball Stadium project, as well as the new Moore Athletics Center, have been occupied within the past year. A new aquatics facility and completion of the renovation to the Mike Long Track building are ongoing priorities. The planned "Legacy Walk" will ultimately showcase FSU tradition and Athletics heritage around the University Center.
Hart has made major hires within coaching and administrative areas of the department, while dramatically increasing exposure for all Seminole Athletics since his arrival at FSU. Through the negotiation of television contracts with the Sunshine Network as well as ACC contracts with regional sports carriers and ABC and ESPN, Florida State enjoys outstanding visibility in all sports on an annual basis.
Under Hart's direction, FSU has formalized a varsity club to encourage the participation of former student-athletes in athletics department activities and a new focus has been placed on the growth of women's athletics at FSU. That commitment is reflected in the increased allocation of funding and facility improvements, such as the Soccer/Softball Complex. Also during Hart's tenure, FSU has been home to the inaugural National Student-Athlete of the Year as well as the NCAA's State of Florida Woman of the Year. A record number of FSU student-athletes have made the ACC Academic Honor Roll, been recipients of NCAA post-graduate scholarship awards and obtained degrees during the past nine years. Student-athlete community service involvement has become a priority since Hart's arrival. Student-athletes at FSU contributed over 4,000 recorded hours this past year to community outreach projects with the women's golf team winning the Athletics Director's Cup for community service.
Football and baseball continue to compete at the highest level nationally during Hart's tenure as both the football and baseball programs have played in national championship games while continuing to excel in conference play. The commitment to build men's and women's basketball into a conference and national contender is very tangible. A 20 million dollar renovation to the Leon County Civic Center and a new 10 million dollar Basketball Training Center are a source of pride for the men's and women's basketball programs.
A 1971 graduate of Alabama, Hart played basketball for the Crimson Tide and earned a master's degree in 1972 while serving as a graduate assistant basketball coach. He coached and taught at the high school level before joining the East Carolina athletics program in 1983 where his vision and leadership enabled that program to reach goals thought to be unattainable.
