June 18, 2007
University of Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White will serve as president of the in 2007-08.
White received the gavel for his year-long tour of duty on June 10, as part of the annual NACDA Convention, this year held in Orlando, Fla. He takes over for outgoing president Lee McElroy, athletics director at the University of Albany.
Among those assisting White in the coming year will be first vice president Joan Cronin, director of women’s athletics at the University of Tennessee; second vice president Randy Spetman, director of athletics at Utah State University; and third vice president David Roach, athletics director at Colgate University.
The largest association of collegiate athletics administrators, NACDA (founded in 1965) boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Members include athletics directors, associate and assistant athletics directors, conference commissioners and affiliate individuals or corporations.
White originally entered the NACDA officer rotation beginning with the 2004-05 academic year when he was elected third vice president. In addition to his NACDA role, White served as president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association in 2005-06 after working his way through the officers’ rotation in that prestigious organization.
His national contributions also include his ongoing representation with the Bowl Championship Series leadership that determines the scope of postseason football at the NCAA Division I-A level.
White was named Notre Dame’s athletics director on March 13, 2000, and is completing his seventh year in that role. He was named the 2006 GeneralSports TURF Systems Division I-A Central Regional Athletic Director of the Year in 2006. Under his direction, Notre Dame finished a program-best sixth in the NACDA Directors’ Cup all-sports standings in 2006. Among White’s other initiatives that have enabled the Irish program to enjoy the most successful across-the-board seasons in Notre Dame athletics history during his tenure include 1.) implementation of an ambitious facilities master plan that will touch virtually every Irish sport, 2.) addition of the last 64 grants-in-aid required to enable all 26 sports to operate with the full NCAA complement of scholarships – and 3.) unprecedented achievement in the classroom by Irish student-athletes, including every team for the first time posting at least a 3.0 combined grade-point average.