UCF’s Vice President and Director of Athletics, Danny White, has been named as the Notre Dame Club of Orlando’s 2018 Good Fellow because of his commitment to the athletic department at the University of Central Florida, as well as his enthusiasm in administration. Previous winners of this award include other distinguished figures such as Lee Corso, Lou Holtz, Frank Viola, Tim Brown and Pat Williams.
White graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 and received his doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 2016. He oversees the UCF athletics department that has “boasted a semester grade-point average of 3.0 or better since 2008,” according to his biography on the UCF website.
White comes from a family deeply involved in intercollegiate athletics. His father, Kevin, is director of athletics at Duke University. His brother, Michael, is the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Florida. His brother, Brian, is the senior associate athletics director for development at the University of Missouri, according to UCF.
The Knights also boast the top NCAA graduation success rate of any public university playing at the football bowl subdivision. In addition, White established the UCF Football Excellence Fund in 2017. That initiative has raised more than $5 million in commitments pledged over five years in an effort to sustain and continue to improve upon the success of the Knights’ program, according to the University of Central Florida’s website. “Danny is an energetic, enthusiastic administrator who is greatly appreciated in the community and well deserves this honor and recognition,” said Paul Partyka, co-chair of the Notre Dame Club golf tournament committee.
White’s other noteworthy accomplishments include the football team’s move from zero wins in 2015 to six in 2016 to the only undefeated college football team in the nation in 2017. White is also among nominees for the 2018 Sports Business Awards, Athletic Director of the Year, and is a Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree for the second straight year. White was recognized for his accomplishments with the award at the Notre Dame Club’s 26th Annual Golf Scholarship Tourney at Alaqua Lakes on May 7.
