Brian White - Vice President and Director of Athletics - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Brian White

Title:
Vice President and Director of Athletics
Phone:
561-297-3199

FROM THE DESK OF BRIAN WHITE

Brian White was introduced as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Florida Atlantic University on March 3, 2018. Bringing two decades of high-level collegiate athletics experience to Boca Raton, White has led an unprecedented transformation within the department, while guiding its rise to national prominence.

White has instilled a #WinningInParadise culture with a simply stated athletics mission of creating a brighter future for FAU through student-athlete success. Thanks in large part to his leadership, Florida Atlantic has experienced substantial growth across the department in the areas of fundraising, ticket sales, corporate partnerships and facility improvement. The constant, though, has been White’s focus on academic achievement.

For 20 consecutive semesters and counting (through Spring 2025), Florida Atlantic student-athletes have compiled a department-wide grade-point average of 3.0 or better, including a semester all-time record of 3.334 this past spring. Providing student-athletes with all the tools necessary to be successful in competition, in the classroom, in the community and in their lives after sports, White manifests his stated mission of creating a brighter future for FAU through student-athlete success.

In September 2024, Florida Atlantic announced a five-year contract extension for White.

Florida Atlantic entered the American Conference in July 2023 as White played a pivotal role in one of the most influential athletics advancements in school history. The move to the American came on the heels of the historic men’s basketball season in 2022-23 that saw the Owls capture the nation’s attention and energize a fan base by winning 35 games, claiming a conference title and advancing to the Final Four for the first time in school history.

In the three years since, the winning has continued in paradise. The department has boasted record highs in fundraising, corporate sponsorships and attendance, including an all-time record $26.4 million in philanthropic giving in 2024-25 -- up a staggering 625% since 2021.

In September 2023, White announced a strategic partnership with Playfly Sports to become FAU’s multimedia rights holder. The agreement more than doubled the Owls’ sponsorship revenue from the prior contract. Just more than a year later, White negotiated the largest football stadium naming rights deal in the American Conference in December 2024 with Flagler Credit Union.

These funds have been directly invested back into the success of FAU’s athletics programs. Generational gifts announced in the last three years have helped change the face of Florida Atlantic Athletics -- $7.5 million from Eleanor R. Baldwin to kickstart renovations to the basketball facility and $6 million from the Hagerty family to create the Hagerty Family Athletics Village, encompassing nine of the Owls’ athletic facilities.

The Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence, a $72 million project, opened to rave reviews in 2020. The complex houses the football program and the department’s academic support staff and features one of the most spacious strength and conditioning spaces in the state of Florida. Every student-athlete at FAU is impacted by the Schmidt Family Complex, which serves as one of the crown jewels of FAU Athletics' facilities.

In total under White, Owl teams have combined for 23 NCAA postseason/bowl appearances and 10 conference titles, including championships from softball and beach volleyball this past season. His high-profile coaching hires have included Dusty May, John Jakus, Zach Kittley and Jordan Clark, who in just three seasons, has led softball to back-to-back American Conference regular season titles in 2024 and 2025.

With focused efforts to enhance the Florida Atlantic brand both nationally and locally through initiatives like the Hometown Team campaign, the department generates multiple billions in equivalent earned media -- including all-time record highs of $2.5 billion, $2.5 billion and $3.3 billion in each of the past three years. More fans attended FAU home games in 2024-25 than in any other year in school history, witnessing conference championships by softball and beach volleyball and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

Thanks in part to the move to the American Athletic Conference, the Owls have been nationally-televised more times in the last two seasons than any other similar span in school history.

Creating brand affinity and awareness was among his first priorities. White spearheaded several initiatives including the innovative Paradise Pricing model to provide discounted concessions pricing at select athletics concessions stands. New branding and other fan-friendly elements have been added to nearly every athletics venue. In a targeted effort to make the Owls the Hometown Team for Boca Raton, student-athletes have totaled nearly 23,000 hours of community service in White’s tenue.

Capitalizing on the vibrant south Florida sports market, White spearheaded the creation of new field-level premium seating areas at FAU Stadium with the addition of south end zone field cabanas in 2019 and eight new bar cabanas to the north end zone in 2022. Premium seating at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena has also been maximized with more than 200 courtside seats and a renovation of the Red & Blue Lounge overlooking the court.

Prior to Florida Atlantic, White served on the senior leadership team at the University of Missouri, where he was deputy athletics director for external relations and served as sport administrator for football and men's basketball.

White was the associate athletics director for development and chief development officer at Army West Point before his time at Missouri. He spent time overseeing all athletic fundraising efforts at the University of Tulsa in 2014 and was associate athletic director for external affairs at Louisiana Tech University from 2012-2014. Before moving into athletics development and administration, White spent time as a senior account executive at IMG College, a leading collegiate sports marketing company.

White's family is highly respected in collegiate athletics. His father, Kevin, retired from his role as Duke University's vice president and director of athletics in 2021; his oldest brother, Mike, is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Georgia; brother, Danny, is director of athletics at the University of Tennessee.

Named to Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in June 2023, White is an ex-officio member of the Orange Bowl Committee.

White earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame (2006) and a master's in business administration from Ohio University (2009). White and his wife, Paige, have two daughters, Callahan and Emerson and a son, Eamon.

(updated August 2025)