DWU Athletic Director Curt Hart to Announce Retirement Wednesday

MITCHELL, S.D. – For the last eight years, the Dakota Wesleyan University athletic department has been under the guidance of athletic director Curt Hart, who has brought stability and unprecedented success on the playing fields, in the classroom and the institution's campus as a whole.

At a press conference Wednesday at the Sherman Center on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University, Hart will announce his resignation as the athletic director at DWU, effective June 1. Hart joined DWU in October 2008 as a development officer and was named the school's athletic director prior to the start of the 2009-10 year.

"It has truly been and honor and a privilege to be the athletic director at Dakota Wesleyan for the past eight years," Hart said. "I have been so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by great people, great coaches, great athletes, a great administration and a great community. When you leave a position or a place that has been such a big part of your life, you want to leave that place better than when you arrived. With the people we have in place, I feel very confident that we have done that."

"Curt Hart has fundamentally transformed the landscape of DWU athletics in his eight years as DWU athletic director," said President Amy Novak.  "The performance of our teams is stronger than at any time in our history.  Curt's leadership has assisted in the successful opening of new facilities to support student athletes, a robust engagement of our community in Wesleyan athletics, and Curt's focus on academic performance of student athletes has yielded record levels of NAIA All-Americans.  He has been a coach's coach, a student's mentor, and a leadership colleague who provides valued input and wisdom.  DWU is a stronger institution because of Curt Hart."

In his time at DWU, Hart has overseen nine Great Plains Athletic Conference regular season team titles, 39 NAIA All-Americans and 190 NAIA Scholar Athletes, to go along with hundreds of All-GPAC honorees and most importantly, countless DWU graduates. In the 2014-15 school year, all 15 DWU athletic teams received NAIA Scholar Team honors, with several teams ranking near the top of the nation in GPA.

In 2014-15, the DWU men's basketball team marched all the way to the NAIA National Championship game, one of the most successful seasons in any sport in the near 100 years of athletics at the institution, with Hart on the sidelines overseeing the team's success the entire way.

"Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for Curt and what he has meant not only to our basketball program and athletic department, but to our entire DWU community," DWU men's basketball head coach Matt Wilber said.  "As a leader and mentor, he represents and excels in all the areas that you would want from his position.  Personally, I will be forever grateful for his decision to take an unconventional chance on hiring me here at DWU and providing the guidance, mentorship, and friendship I very much needed in starting out. While the future of our athletic department and university remains bright, I can only thank him for guiding us in that direction."

Hart's first hire at DWU was current women's basketball coach Jason Christensen, who revived a dormant Tiger program, bringing the team back to national prominence. The Tigers reached the national quarterfinals in 2015-16, the best season for the team in more than a decade.

"Curt has done so much for me personally and professionally," Christensen said. "I can't thank him enough for that and for what he's been able to do for DWU. His impact here will go far beyond his retirement."

The DWU women's program was made even more special to Hart with the stellar four-year career of his daughter, Amanda Hart, which took place during Curt's tenure. Amanda went on to coach as an assistant with the team after graduation and is now the director of basketball operations for the University of Nebraska women's program after holding the same position for one year at the University of South Dakota.

In his time at DWU, Hart has solidified the Tigers as one of the staples in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Joining the conference at its inception in 2000, the Tigers have never been more competitive than in recent years in one of the premier NAIA conferences.

"Hart was he right person at the right time for DWU," GPAC commissioner Corey Westra said about Hart's impact. "His passion and connections have brought DWU to the top of the GPAC, not only in terms of championships, but with facilities and community support as well. The coaches he has hired and the facilities have been so important. He bleeds blue."

Westra remembers a trip to the College of Saint Mary before that school joined the GPAC in 2015. Westra said Hart just wanted to get to know the students at Saint Mary because they are the lifeblood of any institution, adding that Hart has the best interest of the students at heart and is a champion of the student athlete.

Upon his arrival as athletic director, the DWU TeamMakers, the athletic department's primary source of fundraising for athletic scholarships, was in need of a rebuild. With overwhelming support of the Mitchell community and the work of the entire TeamMakers committee, the organization has thrived under Hart, creating hundreds of thousands of dollars for athletic scholarships at DWU over the last seven years.

"Curt has completely transformed and revived this department over the last eight years," DWU associate athletic director Jon Hart said. "There hasn't been a better time to be a part of DWU Athletics, and that is largely due to Curt's leadership."

The number of DWU alumni, employees and fans that take part in TeamMakers with a monetary contribution each year has more than doubled in Hart's tenure. The annual Final Four Party in April was attended by roughly 20 people in Hart's first year, while the past two events have seen more than 300 people overflowing the venue in support of Tiger athletics, making it one of the most anticipated and successful days on the DWU calendar.

In February 2016, Hart saw one of his biggest dreams for DWU come true with the opening of the DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex on the south side of campus. The facility is like nothing seen at DWU prior, creating a home for Tiger athletes to train year round. The opening of the facility has been a rousing success, with the community as a whole raving about the transformation the building has provided.

For years prior to the groundbreaking of the facility, Curt worked with potential donors, administration and community members to make the new complex a reality.

"In the past eight years, we have made remarkable strides on and off the field and courts," Curt Hart said. "We have brought our athletic teams to historic levels. I want to thank President Novak, the board of trustees, and especially my coaches and staff for the opportunity to be a part of the success we have had during my time at this university."

The official announcement of Curt Hart's resignation from the athletic director position will take place at a special press conference at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Sherman Center on the DWU campus. The event will last an estimated 30 minutes with time for questions following the announcement.