Kevin White
Kevin M. White was named Duke University’s vice president and director of athletics on May 31, 2008. He also serves as an adjunct professor of business administration at the university.
White, 67, 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. Always in demand as a visionary leader, White currently serves on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Board of Directors.
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 ArmourAD 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).
White has served on numerous NCAA committees, White was among a select group of college and professional administrators asked to serve on the recently formed 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.”
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. Additionally, White was recognized with honorary degrees from Loras College (2012), Notre Dame (2008, along with his wife), the United States Sports Academy (2007) and St. Joseph’s College (2001). White is also a Notre Dame Honorary Monogram Club Member.
White and his wife, Jane, a former college track and field coach, have five children and 13 grandchildren.
