UCF’s AD White signs new deal
Extension makes him highest-paid at a public school in state.
UCF athletics director Danny White signed a new five-year contract extension that includes a bump in annual pay to $1,081,500, making him the highest-paid AD at a public school in the state of Florida.
White’s new agreement that runs through 2025 pushed him narrowly past Florida Gators AD Scott Stricklin, who previously was the state’s highest-paid AD with an annual base salary of $1.076 million, according to contracts previously obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The new UCF agreement also ranks White among the top 25 nationally in athletics director pay based on a 2018 salary list compiled by sportsinfo.pro.
White’s new contract, which was obtained by the Sentinel, includes an annual rollover clause that will always extend the deal to span five years.
“As much pride as we take in what UCF athletics has been able to accomplish the last few years, in so many ways we have just scratched the surface of our potential,” White said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that we will be able to continue progressing toward our goal of making UCF a perennial top-25 athletics program.”
White has supervised UCF’s athletics renaissance, hiring most of the coaches on the school’s roster, who have in turn led their programs to top-25 rankings and championships. At the same time, he has led a robust fundraising campaign and invested in marketing efforts that have bolstered the Knights’ brand awareness.
“Danny has excelled at building a nationally recognized athletics program, where our student-athletes are thriving academically
and in competition,” UCF interim President Thad Seymour Jr. said.
White took over the charge of the Knights athletics department in 2015 after spending three years in the same position at the University of Buffalo.
During his time with the school, the football program has posted a 35-4 record, highlighted by a school-record 25-game winning streak that included back-to-back American Athletic Conference championships, consecutive appearances in New Year’s Six Access Bowl games and a win over Auburn in the 2017 Peach Bowl.
The men’s and women’s basketball programs also made NCAA Tournament appearances during White’s tenure, with the men earning the first tournament win in school history and the women their program’s first at-large bid.
He has posted school fundraising records for annual gifts received and commitments, including $31.7 million in 2019. Those efforts have contributed to several new construction projects, including the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village, which includes the new Garvy Nutrition Center, the Roth Athletics Center and McNamara Cove — home of the Knights’ lazy river.
The financial campaigns have also led to the renovation of the baseball stadium and planned upgrades to tennis and basketball facilities.
White’s extended contract includes other compensation, including 10 tickets to each home football and men’s and women’s basketball game, and six postseason tickets to football and basketball games for business use. He ia also provided the use of one catered football and basketball skybox for all home games as long as it benefits and promotes UCF athletics.
There are several performance incentives in the contract, with White receiving 2% of his base salary for a division championship and 3% for a conference championship in football. He receives 2% for each men’s and women’s basketball regular-season championship and 2% for conference championships.
He would also receive 10% of his base salary if the football team wins a national championship.
There are several academic incentives as well, including 10% of his base salary if the four-year average of the Academic Progress Rate for each team exceeds the NCAA’s minimum standard for its Division I sport.
White’s contract includes bonuses for meeting attendance figures in sports such as football and men’s and women’s basketball.
White’s buyout, if he chooses to leave the school for another executive job at an NCAA institution or professional sports franchise, is $2.5 million if he departs before May 11, 2021. The figure decreases by $250,000 each year until it reaches $1.5 million in 2025.