Rick Hart

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT RICK HART

In January 2026, Rick Hart was named Senior Vice President/Deputy Commissioner of the Pac 12 Conference. In partnership with Commissioner Teresa Gould, Hart will help lead day-to-day conference and membership operations and oversee several key membership-facing areas in conjunction with department leaders, including football, basketball, Olympic sports, compliance and governance, video operations and student-athlete engagement. In addition, Hart will provide consistent and regular support to and work closely with athletics directors across the league.In 2025, Hart joined Altius Sports Partners as a Senior Advisor.A two-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (2020 & 2025), Rick Hart served as SMU’s Director of Athletics from 2012 to 2025. During his tenure as the CEO of SMU Athletics, Hart transformed the department, guiding the Mustangs into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and securing their first College Football Playoff appearance. During Hart’s time on the Hilltop, SMU repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to “Shaping Champions” – providing a best-in-class student-athlete experience while competing with integrity at the highest level of college athletics.Hart’s strategic vision, dubbed \"The SMU Advantage,\" emphasized comprehensive excellence and operating with values of service, passion, integrity, respect, innovation, and teamwork, aligning athletics with SMU’s bold vision and educational, co-curricular mission. Hart’s legacy includes hiring championship-caliber coaches and elevating SMU to national prominence, cementing his reputation as one of college athletics’ most impactful leaders.Hart is currently a member of the NACDA Board of Directors, having served as NACDA President in 2022-23, and has previously served on the NACDA Executive Committee, the NCAA Division I Championship/Sports Management Cabinet, and the FCS Athletics Directors Association Executive Committee.Hart came to SMU after six years as Director of Athletics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Hart served seven years at Oklahoma and worked in athletics at the University of North Carolina and East Carolina University and with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.Hart\'s father, Dave, served as Director of Athletics at Tennessee, Florida State and East Carolina, and his late grandfather, Dave Sr, served in a variety of roles within collegiate athletics including stints as a Coach, Athletics Director and Conference Commissioner. Hart\'s son, Trevor, is a fourth-generation athletics administrator working at Northwestern University.