Here are a few of Hart's comments:
"I'm 100 percent Vol and will be Saturday night," Hart said. "When you represent an institution, you immediately take on all the passion that comes with that for the institution you represent.
"I hadn't given that any thought literally until this week. Literally, I've followed this rivalry since I was an athlete in this conference myself. I've always thought - before I came back to Alabama three years ago and before I came to Tennessee - that this is one of the great rivalries in college athletics. The Third Saturday in October, it gives me chills to even talk about it. To me it's what college football is all about."
"You go through a lot of sleepless nights, as you do any big decision, and it was a big decision to me," he said. "I knew it would be and Tennessee knew it would be.
"I made the decision that this was a great opportunity, and like Alabama this is a university steeped in tradition and one that has the resources. The people have made us feel extraordinarily welcome in the Tennessee Volunteer family. ... It's been a very good transition because they've been so helpful."
"I made the decision that this was a great opportunity, and like Alabama this is a university steeped in tradition and one that has the resources. The people have made us feel extraordinarily welcome in the Tennessee Volunteer family. ... It's been a very good transition because they've been so helpful."
"An atmosphere of compliance is the No. 1 priority, and academics," Hart said. "(The merger) is not instantaneous. Of course, the decision has already been made, but the transition hasn't been made."
