TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State athletic director David Hart Jr. is leaving the school after a dozen years.

Florida State athletic director David Hart Jr., is shown at a Feb. 2001 news conference in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Craig Litten)

Florida State president T.K. Wetherell told Hart this summer that his contract would not be renewed after its January 2009 completion.

"The uncertainty, it can become paralyzing," Hart said. "Now is the time for everybody to move on. Not to do so would not be the right thing."

Wetherell, who played football for the Seminoles 40 years ago, and Hart had not seen eye-to-eye on the operation of the athletic department for the past few years.

Hart, 58, described his departure as a "presidential decision," and said "I respect that."

Wetherell was not immediately available for comment, although the administration released a statement saying it would pick an interim replacement for Hart on Friday.

Coach Bobby Bowden praised Hart for his work at the school.

"I'm sure he's got something good in mind," Bowden said. "I've got a feeling that something's in the works."

Hart, who choked up a couple of times during the news conference and paused briefly to regain his composure, described his day as "extraordinarily difficult."

He will receive a lump sum payment of $475,000 in January 2009 to cover the 13 months remaining on his contract after his departure. The school's booster organization is already on the hook for more than $537,000 it agreed to pay former offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden.

Wetherell has pushed Hart to improve working relationships with other university offices, improve procedures for investigating allegations of wrongdoing by athletes, and the internal communications within the athletic department.

According to state records, Hart was paid $557,821.21 last year.

Two of Hart's top assistants, Charlie Carr and Pam Overton, left Florida State on Oct. 1.

The school also is awaiting word from the NCAA after it self-reported an academic scandal involving two dozen athletes that resulted in two employees being fired this past summer.

During Hart's tenure, success in high-revenue sports like football has dropped off while several other programs, namely men's track and women's soccer, flourished.

Hart also had mixed success with his coaching hires. Chris Gobrecht left after just one year as the women's basketball coach and her contractual situation wound up in litigation. Steve Robinson was fired after five mediocre seasons as the men's basketball coach, and the program reached postseason play only once during Hart's tenure.