UCF appears set to name Buffalo athletic director Danny White as its new athletic director to replace George O’Leary as the interim athletic director.
UCF will name Buffalo athletic director Danny White as its new athletic director, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Senitnel and Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.com report. White is currently the athletic director at University of New York at Buffalo. An official announcement is expected Thursday ahead of UCF’s nationally televised home game against East Carolina, the last team UCF defeated.
White is the younger brother to Florida coach Mike White, so there is at least some peripheral Florida connection in this athletic director.
White is a youngster at 35 years old, having graduated from Notre Dame in 2002. He has two master’s degrees from Ohio University and is in the process of getting a PhD in higher education at Ole Miss. He was named Buffalo’s athletic director in 2012.
He was reportedly one of three finalists that included Kentucky deputy athletic director DeWayne Peevy and Texas A&M deputy athletic director Marcy Girton.
White obviously has less big-program experience, but he did appear to make some successful decisions for Buffalo.
He hired Bobby Hurley before the 2014 basketball season and the former Duke star led the Bulls to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in his second season last year. Hurley departed Buffalo for Arizona State this year.
White also hired current football coach Lance Leipold, a successful coach going 109-6 in eight years at the Division III level. He has gone 5-5 so far this season, as Buffalo is trying to get to their third bowl game ever.
He did a good job boosting Buffalo up in his short tenure there.
He is expected to be someone who can help with fundraising and bring more energy to the position. He will have a lot to get done too.
UCF has several construction projects that are still getting underway — including a revamp of the baseball stadium — and, of course, he has to hire a new football coach. He certainly has shown he can think outside the box when hiring a coach, but he will also have to prove he can make an effective hire.
White is an up-and-comer and is still largely unproven. Buffalo went 8-5 in 2013 but failed to reach bowl eligibility in the other years at Buffalo while White was athletic director.
His hire at football in the next few months and weeks will be a big decision for his entire tenure as athletic director.
Of course, the main job for the athletic director is to raise funds and run the department. He will get his chance to meet the donors when he gets introduced Thursday.
He has a marketer’s eye it appears in trying to build the Bulls as part of the Buffalo market. UCF certainly needs that.
For now, the hire seems to be a good one. White should bring a new energy and a fresh approach to the position. He has a lot to build from and a lot more to sell in UCF than he might have at Buffalo in a major market and football program that has experienced success.
