[1] Prior to his post at Wake Forest, Currie held the position of Vice Chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Tennessee from February 28, 2017, until December 1, 2017.

He had cultivated relationships with alumni and donors, and his department projected a $4.4 million budget increase for the 2016 fiscal year.

[11] In a letter to supporters dated June 30, 2015, Currie wrote that the KSU athletics department's first goal was to provide "A World-Class Student-Athlete Experience".

[8] Currie was dismissed on December 1, 2017, related to agreeing to terms with then Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the school's next head football coach.

[19] Phillip Fulmer organized a “palace coup”,[20][21] replacing John Currie as AD and ultimately hired Jeremy Pruitt as head football coach.

[22] According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Fulmer "wormed his way into the athletics director job after sabotaging the coaching search by former AD John Currie in 2017.

"[23] While at Tennessee in 2017, Currie hired baseball coach Tony Vitello, who went on to lead the Vols to three College World Series appearances in his first seven years.

[26] Wake Forest recently promoted Currie, adding vice president duties to his existing Director of Athletics role.