In case you missed it, I profiled Tennessee AD Danny White this week as part of his winning SBJ’s Athletic Director of the Year award.
White’s accomplishments in just four years on Rocky Top are genuinely astounding. Sure, Tennessee has resources, but it’s also been almost 20 years since anyone has adequately squared those resources with the leadership needed to steer an ocean liner.
“If he wasn’t running this athletic department, he could be the CEO of any major corporate or Fortune 500 company and do extraordinarily well,” quipped UT System President Randy Boyd. “He’s that kind of business leader.”
What White has done in Knoxville is layered, but include myriad significant bullet points:
- Oversaw a massive overhaul of the school’s ticketing program for football and men’s basketball that has led to tens of millions of dollars in added revenue
- Played a crucial role in negotiating varying naming rights deals with Food City and Pilot for Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium, respectively.
- Added premium seating to Neyland Stadium and has continued to revamp Thompson-Boling Arena with club level areas that have led to increased revenue from both venues
- Became one of the first schools in the country to add a “talent fee” to season ticket purchases to account for the increased cost of House settlement-related spending.
