White Knight

[the_ad_group id=”632″]
BOCA RATON – Florida Atlantic named former Missouri assistant athletic director Brian White its new athletic director, once again choosing a candidate with fundraising experience.

FAU announced White’s hiring via email on Saturday. The date of White’s introductory press conference has yet to be determined but is expected to be next week.

“The moment this opportunity arose I knew immediately I wanted to join the team at Florida Atlantic University,” White said. “From the vision and ambition of the president and the board of trustees to the huge potential of all the school’s athletic programs, these are exciting times to be at FAU.”



FAU signed White to a five-year contract but did not disclose the terms of the contract.

“I challenged our coaches and our entire athletics department to create top 25 programs capable of competing at the highest level,” FAU President John Kelly said. “Everyone involved has risen to the challenge and, in bringing Brian White to FAU, we will continue on our exciting journey under his skilled leadership.”

White replaces Pat Chun, who left FAU in January for the same role at Washington State University. At the time of his hiring FAU touted Chun’s fundraising ability, but that skill never materialized at FAU.

Interim athletic director Brian Battle will return to his role as senior associate director of athletics for internal operations.



At Missouri, White oversaw all external units, including development, marketing, ticket sales, strategic communications, Mizzou Sports Properties, and the Mizzou Network.

White led fundraising efforts that set the single-year Missouri athletics department record of more than $50 million.

Fundraising is a priority for an FAU athletic department constantly battling budgetary concerns. In 2015 FAU announced its intention to build the $50 million Schmidt Athletic Complex, which will house the football offices and contain an indoor practice facility, starting with a $16 million gift from the Schmidt Foundation. The Owls have struggled to raise the remaining funds.

FAU did begin renovations of the home locker room at Howard Schnellenberger Field in January, the first stage of the project.

White’s father Kevin, is Duke University’s athletic director. His brother, Mike, is the basketball coach at Florida. Brother Danny is the athletic director at the University of Central Florida.