Danny White (athletic director)

ucf president john c. hitt, left, and athletics director danny ...

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Daniel J. White (born c. 1980) is an American university sports administrator. He is the athletic director for the UCF Knights sports program of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida. White held the same position at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 2012 to 2015. Prior to his tenure at Buffalo, he served as the senior associate athletic director for Ole Miss.

White's tenure at UCF has included the hiring of new head coaches across several sports, significant facility upgrades, establishment of an official rivalry with the South Florida Bulls, and a highly controversial football national championship claim.

Video Danny White (athletic director)

Early life and college career

Danny has been heavily surrounded by college athletics throughout his life. His father, Kevin White, is the Director of Athletics at Duke University. His brother Mike White is the head coach of the Florida Gators men's basketball team, while his other brother Brian is athletic director for the Florida Atlantic Owls, and his sister Mariah Chappell is assistant athletic director for the SMU Mustangs.

White graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 where he majored in business administration and from Ohio University, receiving his master's degrees in both business administration and sports administration. He completed his doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 2016.

Maps Danny White (athletic director)

Administrative career

Non-AD positions

Prior to his first athletic director position, White served as the senior associate athletic director at the University of Mississippi, worked on development at the California State University, Fresno, and worked as an administrator at other Mid-American Conference schools, Ohio University and Northern Illinois University.

University of Buffalo

White's first athletic director position was for the Buffalo Bulls, where he was at the forefront of Buffalo's rebranding to become "New York's big time athletics department". He initiated a long-term capital funding project to develop Buffalo's athletic facilities, notoriety, reputation, and stature to represent the State of New York. During his time as Athletic Director, White restructured Buffalo's athletic department through its management and coaches. His most notable change was the replacement of Reggie Witherspoon for Bobby Hurley, a former 2-time NCAA champion with Duke University and son of star coach, Bob Hurley. White also launched the New York Bulls Initiative (NYBI), which serves as a comprehensive initiative to cultivate a local and national presence and generate an everlasting sense of loyalty to the University's athletic brand. This initiative emphasizes "NEW YORK" on the school's athletic logos. At Buffalo, he oversaw an athletics program with 20 varsity sports and more than 500 student athletes.

University of Central Florida

In November 2015, White was hired as the athletic director of the UCF Knights, replacing interim AD George O'Leary (who replaced previous AD Todd Stansbury). In the position, White also serves as the executive vice president for the University of Central Florida Athletics Association, the private non-profit corporation that is responsible for the administration and financial management of the UCF Knights athletic programs. As UCF's director of athletics, White oversaw the hiring of a new head football coach, Scott Frost, and was given responsibility of directing over $70 million in athletic facility construction and upgrades. In addition to Frost's hiring, White's administration has overseen the hiring of current men's basketball coach Johnny Dawkins, baseball coach Greg Lovelady, and football coach Josh Heupel.

In 2016, he and South Florida Bulls AD Mark Harlan oversaw the creation of an official "War on I-4" competition series, rebranding the long-running unofficial rivalry between the two schools.

UCF football national championship claim

White generated significant media attention, both positive and negative, for himself and UCF by declaring the 2017 UCF Knights football team national champions in a January 1, 2018, Twitter video published moments after their Peach Bowl victory over the Auburn Tigers, reinforcing the claim the following day with national champions branding on UCF's verified accounts and plans to hold a Disney World parade, hang a national champions banner at Spectrum Stadium, and pay the assistant coaching staff bonuses for their performance. The claim, not supported by the NCAA, came in response to UCF not being selected for the College Football Playoff despite an undefeated season and conference championship.

The claim sparked considerable controversy and debate over whether the College Football Playoff should be expanded to include teams such as UCF that are not in Power Five conferences. Despite the controversy, White fulfilled all his promises--including the Disney World parade, banner, and coaches' bonuses--and distributed national champion rings. Reactions to White's claim extended past the sports world to the Florida state legislature, with Florida governor Rick Scott signing a resolution declaring UCF national champions on January 8, 2018.