Danny White named national athletic director of the year, first in Tennessee history

Danny White was named the Athletic Director of the Year by Sports Business Journal, the first in University of Tennessee history to take home the national honor.

White was presented the accolade at the Sports Business Awards event in New York City on May 21. The award recognizes UT’s tremendous revenue growth and athletics success under his watch.

White and his father, Kevin, are the first father-son duo to win the SBJ Athletic Director of the Year award, which was first given in 2000. Kevin White received the accolade in 2014 during his tenure at Duke.

“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,” UT Chancellor Donde Plowman said in a university 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.”

White was the highest-paid athletics director at a public university in the country, based on the most recent documents obtained by USA TODAY Network in 2024. That distinction came after he signed a contract extension that pays him at least $2.75 million annually.

Tennessee winning reached new heights under Danny White

But White appears to have earned his keep since being hired at UT in 2021.

In 2023-24, UT finished third in the Learfield Directors’ Cup all-sports standings, the best in school history, and won a third straight SEC All-Sports Trophy. It capped the most successful year in Vols sports history.

In 2024, UT became only the second school ever to appear in the College Football Playoff, NCAA basketball tournament Elite Eight and the College World Series in the same year. UT baseball won its first national title.

All 20 UT sports are on pace to reach the NCAA postseason in 2024-25 for a second straight year. According to UT, that would make it the first Power Four conference school to achieve that feat in back-to-back years.

Tennessee revenue growth broke records under White

Since White arrived at UT in 2021, the athletics budget has grown by almost $100 million.

UT broke a revenue record with $202 million in the 2023 fiscal year. Then it broke the record again with $234 million in revenue generated in the 2024 fiscal year.

Ticket revenue and contributions also hit record highs under White’s watch during a skyrocketing surge of growth. And major facility upgrades are underway at Neyland Stadium, Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, Anderson Training Center, Food City Center and Neyland Entertainment District as a developmental project.

Here are SBJ Athletic Directors of the Year winners

• 2000: Lew Perkins, UConn
• 2001: Ted Leland, Stanford
• 2002: Bob Bowlsby, Iowa
• 2003: Andy Geiger, Ohio State
• 2004: Eric Hyman, TCU
• 2005: DeLoss Dodds, Texas
• 2006: Jeremy Foley, Florida
• 2007: Tom Jurich, Louisville
• 2008: Ron Wellman, Wake Forest
• 2009: Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma
• 2010: Gene Smith, Ohio State
• 2011: DeLoss Dodds, Texas
• 2012 — Mark Hollis, Michigan State University
• 2013 — Mal Moore, University of Alabama
• 2014: Kevin White, Duke
• 2015: Jeff Long, Arkansas
• 2016: Gene Smith, Ohio State
• 2017: Dan Radakovich, Clemson
• 2018: Jim Phillips, Northwestern
• 2019: Mitch Barnhart, Kentucky
• 2020: Scott Stricklin, Florida
• 2021: Mack Rhoades, Baylor
• 2022: Sandy Barbour, Penn State
• 2023: J.D. Wicker, San Diego State
• 2024: Chris Del Conte, Texas
• 2025: Danny White, Tennessee

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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