Danny White (athletic director)

In a move that was not publicized until the SEC released 2022 conference schedules, White canceled the game vs. Army on September 17, 2022. This game was scheduled for the same week as the 2022 Congressional Medal of Honor Society in Knoxville and recipients would have been recognized at the game. Instead, Tennessee played Akron in a game scheduled by White in February 2021.

On January 21, 2021 White was hired as athletic director at the University of Tennessee. One of his first acts as AD was to hire Josh Heupel away from UCF to become the Volunteers' new head football coach.

White's first semester at Tennessee - the spring of 2021 - was extraordinary. The combined 470.5 NACDA Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup points won by Tennessee teams was the highest spring points total in the 28-year history of the Directors Cup for Tennessee. Team successes were highlighted by the baseball team qualifying for the College World Series and men's tennis capturing the SEC Tournament title, advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships and earning a final No. 4 national ranking to end the year.

In 2019, White was named NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year. The following year, Stadium rated White No. 4 nationally on its list of athletics directors based on the combined success of his coaching hires in football and men's basketball.

White’s departmental successes have earned him numerous awards—a Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree in multiple years, a spot on the Orlando Business Journal 40 Under 40 list, multiple selections as one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Orlando by Orlando Magazine and he was a finalist for the 2018 SBJ Athletics Director of the Year award. In the same year, SBJ named him one of the six most influential people in sports business.

White generated significant media attention, both positive and negative, for himself and UCF by declaring the 2017 UCF Knights football team national champions in a January 1, 2018, Twitter video published moments after their Peach Bowl victory over the Auburn Tigers, reinforcing the claim the following day with national champions branding on UCF's verified accounts and plans to hold a Disney World parade, hang a national champions banner at Spectrum Stadium, and pay the assistant coaching staff bonuses for their performance. The claim came in response to UCF not being selected for the College Football Playoff despite an undefeated season and conference championship.

The claim sparked considerable controversy and debate over whether the College Football Playoff should be expanded to include teams such as UCF that are not in Power Five conferences. Despite the controversy, White fulfilled all his promises—including the Disney World parade, banner, and coaches' bonuses—and distributed national champion rings. Reactions to White's claim extended past the sports world to the Florida state legislature, with Florida governor Rick Scott signing a resolution declaring UCF national champions on January 8, 2018.

The NCAA does recognize the Knights as a National Champion for 2017 per pg. 117 of the 2019 Official NCAA Record Book.

In 2016, he and South Florida Bulls AD Mark Harlan oversaw the creation of an official "War on I–4" competition series, rebranding the long-running unofficial rivalry between the two schools.

In November 2015, White was hired as the athletic director of the UCF Knights, replacing interim AD George O'Leary (who replaced previous AD Todd Stansbury). In the position, White also served as the executive vice president for the University of Central Florida Athletics Association, the private non-profit corporation that is responsible for the administration and financial management of the UCF Knights athletic programs. As UCF's director of athletics, White oversaw the hiring of a new head football coach, Scott Frost, and was given responsibility of directing over $70 million in athletic facility construction and upgrades. In addition to Frost's hiring, White's administration also oversaw the hiring of current men's basketball coach Johnny Dawkins, baseball coach Greg Lovelady, and Frost's successor Josh Heupel.

White attended Towson University for three years (1998–2001) and was on the basketball team, but saw limited playing time and also suffered from major knee problems, missing all of the 1999–2000 season and playing only one game in 2000–01. He transferred to Notre Dame, playing there for one season. He graduated from Notre Dame in 2002, majoring in business administration, and from Ohio University, receiving master's degrees in both business administration and sports administration. He completed his doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 2016.

Daniel J. White (born October 28, 1979) is an American university sports administrator. He is the athletic director for the Tennessee Volunteers. White held the same position at the University at Buffalo from 2012 to 2015 and the University of Central Florida from 2015 to 2021. Prior to his tenure at Buffalo, he served as the senior associate athletic director for Ole Miss.