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Kevin White
- Tenure at Duke:
- 2008-21
Kevin M. White was named Duke University’s Vice President and Director of Athletics on May 31, 2008 and served in that capacity until his retirement in August 2021. He also served as an adjunct professor of business administration at the university.
Previous Leadership Roles
White arrived at Duke after leading Notre Dame’s athletics program for eight years. In addition to previously holding AD positions at Arizona State University, Tulane University, the University of Maine and Loras College in Iowa, White has served in a number of prominent national leadership roles within intercollegiate athletics, including his service in 2006-07 as president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and in 2005-06 as president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association.
Olympic Committee Involvement
White currently serves as a member of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Board of Directors. In October of 2017, White was selected to chair the newly formed USOPC Collegiate Advisory Council (CAC) to guide and strengthen Olympic sport programming at the collegiate level. The 10-member CAC is charged with bridging the gap between high-contributing collegiate stakeholders and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.
Awards and Recognition
A testament to the tremendous respect he has garnered within the college athletics community, White has earned multiple high profile awards throughout his career. That impressive list includes the GeneralSports TURF Systems Division I-A Central Region Athletic Director of the Year (2006), the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Under Armour AD of the Year Award presented by NACDA (one of four recipients in 2013), the National Football Foundation’s John L. Toner award (2015), Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year award (2015), Bobby Dodd AD of the Year (2015) and the Carl Maddox Sports Management Award (2015).
In August 2003, SI.com (the Sports Illustrated web site) listed White, then at Notre Dame, third in its rankings of the most powerful people in college football. In January 2004, The Sporting News listed him in its Power 100 as third among five names in the “front office” category (and the lone college athletics director among the 100).
White has served on numerous NCAA committees, including the NCAA Council, formerly the association’s highest governing body. In 2012, White was among a select group of college and professional administrators asked to serve on the Expert Advisory Board for the Knight Commission. Moreover, he was the secretary of NCAA Football, a non-profit corporation acting as the “collective voice to promote college football.”
In 2019-20, White served as the Chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. For several years, he was a member of the Advocates for Athletic Equity Board of Directors (formerly BCA) and a representative with the football Bowl Championship Series. In addition, he previously was an ex-officio member of the Sugar Bowl Committee during his tenure at Tulane, was a member of the Rose Bowl Management Committee while at Arizona State, and also worked closely with the Fiesta Bowl during his stay in Tempe.
Impact at Duke University
Guided by the Strategic Plan that was approved by Duke’s Board of Trustees in April of 2008, White made an immediate – and lasting – impact on Duke Athletics. In addition to leading the department to unprecedented success in competition, he reshaped the organization into a more efficient department; strengthened ties to both campus and community constituents though consistent outreach efforts; successfully oversaw Duke Athletics’ record-breaking fundraising efforts; streamlined and invested in staffing and forged partnerships with major corporate entities to enhance revenue streams to historically high levels; commissioned and executed a master facilities plan to position Duke well into the 21st Century; implemented significant diversity and inclusion efforts for Duke Athletics; and emphasized a stronger commitment to the university’s intramural, club and recreational sports programs.
During White’s tenure, Duke captured eight NCAA Championships – women’s tennis in 2009, men’s basketball in 2010 and 2015, men’s lacrosse in 2010, 2013 and 2014, and women’s golf in 2014 and 2019 – and 23 ACC titles. On the strength of 16 teams participating in postseason competition and robust finishes in several sports, Duke ranked ninth in the 2019 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, which determine an institution’s all-around strength in intercollegiate athletics. The ninth place showing marked the 16th consecutive year that Duke has ended among the nation’s top 35 programs. In 2011, Duke placed fifth, matching the school’s best finish in the rankings and its 1171.50 points earned were the most in program history. In White’s 12 years at Duke, the Blue Devils placed 17th (2009), 10th (2010), fifth (2011), 16th (2012), 12th (2013), ninth (2014), 20th (2015), 24th (2016), 32nd (2017),11th (2018) and ninth (2019) in the Directors’ Cup standings. Of note, the 2020 Cup standings were suspended due to COVID-19.
Additionally under White's leadership at Duke, 116 Blue Devil teams have ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams with 22 – men’s basketball (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), field hockey (2016, 2018), men’s golf (2020), men’s lacrosse (2010, 2013, 2014, 2018), women’s golf (2012, 2015, 2019) and women’s tennis (2009, 2010, 2014) – reaching No. 1. In all, 190 Duke squads advanced to NCAA postseason competition during White’s Duke tenure. In 2018-19, Duke claimed the ACC championship in men’s basketball while winning the national title in women’s golf. Individually, Mitch Finesilver captured the ACC wrestling title at 149 pounds while the rowing V4 boat claimed the first gold medal in program history. Blue Devil student-athletes also claimed two ACC Scholar Athletes of the Year award and Zion Williamson was named the league’s player of the year, rookie of the year and national player of the year by eight media outlets. In 2016, Duke was the only athletic department in the nation to have a football bowl champion, a Sweet 16 appearance in men’s basketball and secure a baseball NCAA postseason berth and in 2018, Duke became just one of four schools over the past decade to win a bowl game, reach the Sweet 16 in both men’s and women’s basketball and advance to the Super Regional round in baseball in the same season.
Individually, 406 student-athletes earned All-America, 764 All-ACC and 331 All-Region or District honors the past 12 years. During White’s tenure, Duke boasted 13 NCAA individual champions in Curtis Beach (indoor track and field heptathlon in 2012 and 2014), Juliet Bottorff (outdoor track and field 10k in 2011), Virginia Elena Carta (women’s golf in 2016), Mallory Cecil (women’s tennis in 2009), Abby Johnston (three-meter diving in 2011), Nick McCrory (platform diving in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014), and Becca Ward (women’s fencing, saber in 2009, 2011 and 2012).
Academic and Community Initiatives
Academically, Duke teams posted strong performances under White. In the 2019-20 academic year, 24 of 27 Blue Devil varsity teams earned grade point averages of 3.0 or better during the fall and spring semesters. Additionally, 84 student-athletes earned Dean’s List honors in the fall semester while recognition was not awarded in the spring due to COVID-19.
In White’s 13-year tenure, former women’s tennis player Parker Goyer won a Rhodes Scholarship (2009), pole vaulter Sally Liu (2009) and swimmer Allie Speidel (2011) earned Marshall Scholarships and swimmer Max St. George garnered the Fullbright Scholarship (2019).
Under White, Duke continued its focus on outreach to the local community. Modeling the NCAA Student-Athlete Development program’s commitment to service, learning projects and outreach, more than 600 Duke student-athletes across all sports participated in community service initiatives during the 2019-20 academic year.
White’s commitment to the overall mission of the university remains clear. A portion of ticket sales Blue Devil regular season home sporting events are directed annually to the Duke University Libraries and the Rubenstein Civic Student-Athlete Civic Engagement program (ACE). Per White’s vision from 2011, the Duke Athletics Library Fund has generated significant unrestricted revenue for the Duke University Libraries to support teaching and research across the institution. The civic engagement program, known as ACE, was started in 2015 in a partnership with Stanford University. The foundation of the venture includes student-athletes from both Duke and Stanford working together in under-resourced communities in the United States and abroad.
In fall of 2012, Duke University announced the $3.25 billion Duke Forward fundraising campaign for priorities across Duke’s 10 schools, Duke Medicine and a range of university programs. Included in the campaign was a $250 million goal for Duke Athletics to be divided three ways – for facility enhancements and support ($100 million), endowment income ($50 million) and operating funds ($100 million). The initial $250 million goal was exceeded by the Duke Athletics fundraising team by more than $100 million ($365 million was raised in the campaign that ended June 30, 2017). Several significant facility projects were completed, including major renovations to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, including Blue Devil Tower and the Davis Family Kicking Field at the Brooks Practice Facility, a grand entrance and entertainment space to the front of iconic Cameron Indoor Stadium (Rubenstein Pavilion), and the Scott Family Athletics Performance Center that now houses several of Duke Athletics’ administrative units, as well as new strength and conditioning and sports medicine areas, a ticket office and team merchandise store.
White, who holds a Ph.D. in education, has taught graduate-level classes since 1982 and currently teaches a sports business course in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business as part of Duke’s MBA program.
Early Career and Education
Before becoming an administrator, White served as head track and field coach at Southeast Missouri State and assistant cross country and track and field coach at Central Michigan. He began his coaching career at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Fla., coaching cross country and track and assisting in football and wrestling.
White earned his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1983 with an emphasis on higher education administration. In 1985, he completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management. He earned his master’s degree in athletics administration from Central Michigan University in 1976 and his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1972 from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., where he also competed as a sprinter.
Legacy and Personal Life
Additionally, White was recognized with honorary degrees from Loras College (2012), the United States Sports Academy (2007) and St. Joseph’s College (2001). White is also a Notre Dame Honorary Monogram Club Member, and in 2008 he and his wife, Jane, were named Notre Dame Honorary Alumni. He has been enshrined into the Irish America Hall of Fame, Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and Loras College Hall of Fame.
White and his wife, Jane, a former college track and field coach, have five children and 14 grandchildren.
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