For White, athletics runs in the family
Father, brothers are college coaches, execs
BOCA RATON — New Florida Atlantic University Athletic Director Brian White never has to leave the family when asking for job advice.
He has a strong support system that is only a phone call away. White, who was introduced at a news conference Wednesday at the Tom Oxley Athletic Center, comes from a family that has a lot of experience in college athletics and administration.
His father, Kevin, is the vice president and director of athletics at Duke. His brother, Mike, coaches the University of Florida basketball team while another sibling, Danny, is the vice president and director of athletics at Central Florida.
“It helped a lot, honestly,” White said. “We grew up around student-athletes, coaches, administrators, donors at events, at games, at practices. We kind of did grow up around it but also, I hate to admit, but I do call family for advice on a very regular basis. It is a big resource for me.”
White is fortunate enough to have family members from all sides of athletics. If he’s having an issue with a coach, he can phone Mike. If there is an administration issue, he can ask his father or other brother.
“It’s one of those things that if you all work in the same business, you’re calling each other all the time,” White said. “I’m the younger brother, so I tend to call my dad probably even more. As you figure it out, you learn on the job.”
White, who signed a fiveyear contract, is the sixth full-time athletic director in school history. He replaced Pat Chun, who in January left for Washington State.
“You’re going to find that Brian White is a person who not only is a strong family man, he is also a person who connects deeply with the community,” FAU president John Kelly said. “He’s a person who will be out there with you and he will take this university with him.”
For the past three years, White was senior associate athletics director at Missouri, where he had a strong reputation for excelling at fundraising. He was in charge of several departments, including marketing, ticket sales and strategic communications.
White has already met with most Owls coaches individually, including football coach Lane Kiffin. Last season FAU had its best football season in school history, finishing 11-3.
“I can tell you’re we’re going to have a vision in athletics,” White said. “We’re going to create a strategic plan. But I want to spend some time getting here, and getting to know everybody here. I need to do a lot of listening and learning.”
White said he wants to achieve success at FAU, but only by doing it the right way. He takes the phrase “student-athlete” seriously. White likes to follow an acronym he created called RIGHT, which stands for Respect, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility and Teamwork.
“It’s not enough just to win,” White said. “We want to win the right way. That’s going to be the first thing we’re going to implement.”
White moved to Boca Raton with his wife, Paige, and their two daughters, Callahan and Emerson. The family is no stranger to Florida. His parents own a home in Melbourne and hosted several family reunions.
“Two of my siblings were born in Florida,” White said. “We have been actually coming to Florida for the past 15 years or so visiting Melbourne. … Florida is as home to us as really anywhere else. … I could not be more excited about this place.”
White takes the phrase “student-athlete” seriously. He likes to follow an acronym he created called RIGHT, which stands for Respect, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility and Teamwork.