The University of Central Florida is extending its relationship with Athletic Director Danny White — by five years, to be exact, the school announced on March 10. White entered his current position in late 2015.
“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, per the official release. “I’m thrilled that we will be able to continue progressing towards our goal of making UCF a perennial top-25 athletics program.”
—
Under White, UCF’s football team has been positioned front and center in the college-football landscape, going 35-4 over the last three seasons. That includes a 25-game win streak, back-to-back American Athletic Conference championships and consecutive New Year’s Six bowl appearances, including a 34-27 win over Auburn University that capped off an undefeated season on Jan. 1, 2018.
Most recently, the Knights finished 2019 with a 10-3 record, 6-2 in AAC play, and with a 45-28 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd in the 2019 Gasparilla Bowl.
In 2015, a season before White joined UCF, the Knights were among the worst teams in football, going 0-12 overall and 0-8 against AAC teams. UCF has been to a bowl game each year since.
Ahead of last season, UCF sold out its allotment of season tickets for the first time. A waiting list was subsequently implemented, and, now, potential stadium expansions are being discussed.
—
UCF’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have seen the most success they’ve ever experienced under coaches White hired. Both teams performed well enough to garner invitations to their respective 2018-19 NCAA Tournaments.
Under Head Coach Johnny Dawkins, the ninth-seeded men’s team defeated the eighth-seeded VCU Rams 73-58 in the first round before narrowly losing to the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils 77-76 in the Round of 32. Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and her 12th-seeded women lost in the first round 60-45 to No. 5 Arizona State University.
—
“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, per the release. “The Knights are one of the most exciting teams in the nation, and I can’t wait to see what our student-athletes and coaches accomplish under Danny’s leadership in the years ahead.”
White is a multiple-time Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 winner. He earned a spot on the Orlando Business Journal 40 Under 40 list, has been selected as one of the 50 most powerful people in Orlando by Orlando Magazine and was a finalist for the 2018 SBJ Athletics Director of the Year award.
In spring 2019, White was named a NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year. A year earlier, SBJ named him one of the six most influential people in sports business.
“I couldn’t be more committed to building UCF for the long term and I am humbled to be able to lead such a talented group of coaches, staff and student-athletes who make it all happen,” White said. “I’d like to thank our interim president, Thad Seymour, for his leadership and unwavering support, as well as our many generous donors and sponsors who share our ambitious vision and are bringing it to fruition.”
With White’s leadership, UCF has seemingly been just as successful in the classroom as they have been on the field. The Knights’ 16 National Collegiate Athletics Association teams have combined for an average 3.0 GPA through 24 consecutive semesters (through fall 2019). In 2019, UCF set a school record for most student-athletes on the 2019 AAC All-Academic Team with 253.
White is also responsible for UCF Athletics transitioning its multimedia rights and corporate partnerships to in-house. He also helped extend an apparel and shoe agreement with Nike.
“Knight Nation,” White said, “our future is as bright as the Florida sunshine. We’re all gonna need shades.”
For more on the Knights and each of their 16 teams, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor for tips and/or memes (happy to send or receive), you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
