Since arriving in 2021, Danny White has transformed the University of Tennessee into an athletic powerhouse. On Wednesday, Sports Business Journal named him Athletic Director of the Year.
White becomes the first-ever athletic director from the UT to be named with the honor.
Danny’s father, Kevin White, was awarded the same honor in 2014. Kevin served at Duke University until his retirement in 2021. The father-son duo became the first of the sort to win the same award.
“Danny’s impact on our campus and in the changing world of intercollegiate athletics has been transformational, and I am thrilled for his leadership to be recognized as the SBJ Athletic Director of the Year,” Chancellor Donde Plowman said in a press release. “Danny sets the tone with his competitive drive, strategic approach and problem-solving mindset, and has built an incredible team of athletics administrators committed to supporting student-athletes and winning with integrity. The culture he has built at Tennessee is truly special.”
Last season, the award was presented to Chris Del Conte, the athletic director at the University of Texas. In 2024, 18 of 19 Texas teams advanced to NCAA postseason play.
White rebuilt a “sleeping giant” within the athletics program. His first of many moves was bringing in former UCF head coach Josh Heupel as the Tennessee head football coach.
Yet in 2023-24, Tennessee athletics reached heights the campus had never seen before as no teams missed out on postseason play. The school became one of only two Power Five teams in the NCAA to qualify. They are also on pace to achieve this height again in the 2024-25 season.
Eleven sports finished in the top 10 within their respective sports, with six teams in the top five in 2023-24. Tennessee also became the only school in the country to attend the College Football Playoff, Elite Eight and College World Series.
Rounding out the successes, Tennessee baseball claimed its first-ever national championship in the College World Series, winning in three games over the Texas A&M Aggies.
The last time the Vols were at the top of their mountain in any sport dates back to 2009 in women’s track and field. In 2024, White became one of the few directors at the school to oversee a championship parade in the streets of Knoxville.
Winning in all areas pushed the Vols towards receiving a third-place finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, the best mark ever in the category. Before White made it to campus, the school hadn’t even reached the top five in Directors’ Cup voting.
Before 2021, the school had yet to win an SEC All-Sports Trophy. After 2024, the Vols now own three of the trophies. All three have come in consecutive seasons, with the hardware streak starting in 2022.
White always looks at the big picture, whether financially or statistically. White has revamped the athletic facilities across the campus, from Neyland Stadium to Lindsey Nelson Stadium’ revamp.
The plans for renovations on facilities don’t end there as White intends plans for Sherri Lee Parker Stadium, Anderson Training Center, Food City Center and the “Neyland Entertainment District”.
In the financial department, White’s athletics have also been succeeding. The $234 million in total operating revenue was a record-high for UT history, surpassing last year’s record total of just over $202 million.
