Danny White’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to the rapidly evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics primed University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman to name him Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics on Jan. 21, 2021.
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, White was named a NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year in the spring of 2019. In 2018, SBJ named him one of the six most influential people in sports business, while Orlando Magazine tabbed him as the area’s most powerful person in sports. In 2020, Stadium rated White No. 4 nationally on its list of athletics directors based on the combined success of his coaching hires in football and men’s basketball.
White graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He earned master’s degrees in both business administration and sports administration from Ohio University and completed a doctorate degree in higher education from Ole Miss in 2016.
White comes from a family deeply involved in intercollegiate athletics. His father, Kevin, was the longtime vice president and director of athletics at Duke (and previously held that same role at Notre Dame, Arizona State, Tulane, Maine and Loras College). His brother, Michael, is the head men’s basketball coach at Florida. His brother, Brian, is the vice president and director of athletics at Florida Atlantic. His sister, Mariah, is the assistant athletics director for administration at SMU.
Danny and his wife, Shawn, have four children: Aidan, Molly, Caitlin and James.