Dr. Kevin White, Director of Athletics

Dr. Kevin White

Dr. Kevin White, in just three years, has made vast improvements to the face of Arizona State University athletics. The Director of Athletics at Tulane University for the previous five years, White was named as ASU's 17th Athletic Director on Wednesday, March 27, 1996.

Last summer, White's contract was extended through June 30, 2004.

In two years at the helm of ASU Athletics, the Sun Devils not only balanced the athletics budget, but ended fiscal year 1998 with a million-dollar surplus while increasing the budget 22.2 percent. The budget that showed a $2,970,000 deficit, has now bankrolled a $1,010,000 surplus even though the original plan called for a 10-year elimination period (beginning in 1992 and ending in 2000). Since 1996, the ICA operating budget has grown from $16.7 million to $26 million.

White's initiatives have been aimed at accomplishing three overriding goals: 1. For each team to finish in the top 3 of the Pac-10 and top 10 in the nation; 2. To create an enhanced student-athlete experience culminating in graduation; and 3. To follow all Pac-10 and NCAA rules and regulations. With that in mind, ICA was reorganized to enhance the plan for ASU's future, putting an emphasis on building the operational budget. White's activities since arriving have included a total reorganization of the annual fundraising apparatus, a renegotiation of ASU's radio contract rights, significantly increasing the staff of the athletic department, a dramatic reorganization of ASU's academic and student services, a $25 million capital campaign, initiating plans to add women's water polo (2002) and women's rowing (2003) to better conform with gender equity standards and the hiring of five head coaches.

One of White's first initiatives at Arizona State was to reorganize the structure and dynamics of fundraising for the ASU athletic department. The Sun Devils moved to consolidate what had been numerous clubs and foundations into one organization and bring their efforts in-house, under ASU's direct facilitation, more specifically, the Sun Angel Foundation - a non-profit corporation that has contributed over $60 million to various University projects, grants and scholarships since its inception in 1947 - assumed control of all fundraising activities in support of ASU athletics in 1997. A separate entity from ASU since its incorporation, the Sun Angel Foundation became formally part of Arizona State's athletic department on July 1, 1998.

Furthermore, ASU has modernized ASU's fundraising efforts by linking the amount of contributions an individual or group makes to the benefits they receive. The results have been dramatic as ASU's annual giving has increased from $1.8 million in fiscal year 1997 to an anticipated $6 million in 2000.

In 1997, ICA increased its annual radio rights fees 57-percent and added programming in women's basketball and baseball. The radio deal was believed to be one of the top 10 Division I contracts in the country.

Currently, ASU's new radio agreement with Outdoor Systems Sports Marketing is a multi-year deal that will increase revenue significantly.

The Sun Devils have added a number of full-time positions to the athletic department support staff, in an attempt to remedy understaffing challenges. ASU has also incorporated the office of Stadium Management back into the realm of ICA for the first time since 1983.

White also assembled an academic task force in 1997 to evaluate existing policy and propose ways to increase graduation rates among student-athletes at Arizona State. In response to their recommendations and to the commitment of service to the student athletes, the CASA unit (Compliance, Academic Services, Student Services and Administration) was expanded and reorganized. Its aim is to maximize ASU's commitment of service to the student-athletes and to realize a goal of at least a 70% NCAA 6-year student athlete graduation rate by 2003.

As part of ASU's campus-wide $300-million Campaign for Leadership, Sun Devil Athletics set a five-year goal of $20 million to fund a comprehensive modernization of ASU's already impressive athletic physical plant. In just 22 months, ASU has garnered commitments totaling $23 million. The plan calls for, among other things, new soccer and softball stadiums, a new stadium club, a greatly enlarged academic advisement center and football locker rooms at Sun Devil Stadium, a new weightroom facility, a new gymnastics/wrestling and volleyball center and physical updates at Wells Fargo Arena, Packard Stadium, Sun Angel Track Stadium and the Whiteman Tennis Facility.

Since his arrival, White has hired four people to head 12 of ASU's 21 sports programs: Charli Turner-Thorne (women's basketball), Greg Kraft (men's and women's track & field/cross country), Rob Evans (men's basketball) and Mike Chasson (men's & women's swimming).

Locally, White serves the community in which he lives, as a member of the Board of Director's for the Easter Seals and serves as Vice Chairman of the Annual Campaign of the United Way. Within the Pacific-10 Conference level, White is a member of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Selection Committee and he also serves as the Chairman of the Television Committee and the Bowl Committee. White also is a member of the Division 1A Athletic Director's Association CHAMPS/Lifeskills Board of Advisors.

White also serves as an Affiliated Associate Professor in the College of Business and College of Education. White and the ICA Staff was instrumental in creating a new curriculum at ASU, the Master's of Business Administration with a Sports Management emphasis, one of two in the nation.

White was tabbed following a year-long search in which ASU Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Christine K. Wilkinson served as interim Director of Athletics. White was chosen from a large initial group of candidates from a list of four finalists.

"My role as I see it is to facilitate an environment to make all those things occur," says White. It seems to me the real elite programs in the country have a couple of characteristics in common. Student-athletes today can differentiate between schools that are making an academic commitment and ones that are not. We will be clean, we will be compliant, we'll do it with class and we'll do it the right way."

Under White's tutelage from 1991-96, Tulane's athletic program flourished. The Green Wave men's basketball team advanced to postseason play five times in five years. In 1994-95, four Tulane teams advanced to postseason competition. During that year, both the men's and women's basketball teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament, with the women making their first trip ever. In addition, the Wave had two NCAA Championship qualifiers in women's track and field and its first men's tennis participant in NCAA Championship play in 26 years.

White addressed Tulane's gender equity needs, spearheading a $9 million stabilization fund-raising effort which added two women's varsity sports, provided a full compliment of NCAA scholarships in all sports (by 1998) and provided enhanced operational funding.

White also provided a leadership role in the development of the new $84 million sports arena in downtown New Orleans, in which the Green Wave will enjoy primary tenant status.

The Green Wave Club increased its membership by 500 percent since during White's tenure to more than 4,000 members.

In the classroom, Tulane's student-athletes excelled as well. In each of White's final five semesters, more than 80 student-athletes achieved a 3.0 grade-point average or better, culminating in graduation. For the class that entered school in 1990-91, the year prior to White's arrival, the NCAA six-year graduation rate for all student-athletes was 75 percent.

White's primary focus during his last year at Tulane was to secure conference affiliation for Tulane football, resulting in Conference USA. All Tulane athletic teams began participation in Conference USA in 1995-96 except for football, which began league play in 1996. White was a cutting-edge force in the efforts of Division I-A independents to consolidate into an affiliation which will dramatically enhance each program's regional and national television opportunities, provide bowl tie-in possibilities and insure improved conference revenue sharing streams.

White has served on numerous NCAA committees, including the NCAA Council, which had been the highest governing body in the NCAA, as well as the executive committee of the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association.

An adjunct associate professor of education at Tulane, White also hosted a weekly radio talk show on WWL Radio, wherein he discussed the past, present and future of Green Wave athletics and issues that confronted college athletics. At ASU, he hosts the "Kevin White Show," a weekly talk show on the Sun Devil flagship radio station.

Prior to becoming Director of Athletics at Tulane, White served in that same capacity at the University of Maine from 1987 through 1991. While there, White directed a program which excelled on the field and in the classroom and one that many described as the most progressive in the Northeast. In 1989-90, Maine captured conference championships and qualified for postseason play in football, baseball, ice hockey, women's basketball and golf.

White's efforts helped to generate more than $11 million from private sources for the Maine athletic department, while also serving on the NCAA's cost reduction and nominating committees.

White cut his teeth in college administration at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he served as Athletic Director, Vice President of Student Affairs and Vice President for Development from 1982-87. He supervised the college's $15 million capital campaign, in addition to a $1.2 million annual fund, planned giving, alumni relations, college publications and public relations. He also founded and served as executive director of the National Catholic Basketball Tournament.

During his coaching career, White served as head track and field coach at Southeast Missouri State and Central Michigan University, coaching a number of NCAA all-Americas and two national champions. He began a very successful coaching career in football, track, cross country and wrestling at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Fla.

White holds a Ph.D. in education from Southern Illinois and a master's degree in athletics administration from Central Michigan and a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer (Ind.) in 1972, while competing as a sprinter on the track and field team. In 1997, St. Joseph's bestowed the Alumni Achievement Award upon White. He completed post-doctoral work in 1985 at the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

White was born in Amityville, N.Y. His wife Jane holds a master's degree in physical education from Central Michigan, wherein she served as head track and field coach. The first family of ASU athletics has five children - Maureen, (a graduate student at ASU), Michael (a graduate of the University of Mississippi), Daniel (a sophomore guard at Towson University), Brian and Mariah.