Kevin White

Position: Deputy Director of Athletics

Kevin White has served as Deputy Director of Athletics at Clemson since April 19, 2022. Now in his third year, White has helped lead several of Clemson’s strategic campaigns, facilitated significant student-athlete wellness growth, facility enhancement, athletic success, operational efficiency and serves as a connection point for the Board of Trustees.

White assists in running the day-to-day operations of the department as the second in command, playing a key role in the Athletic Department’s relationship with University leadership on several key issues, and served as a primary coordinator of postseason logistics liaison with the Board of Trustees.

White has also maintained a consistent presence in Clemson’s in-house multimedia rights organization and its NIL programming and developed relationships as the sport administrator for the three-time national champion and 2024 College Football Playoff participant football program and 2024 Elite Eight men’s basketball program.

During his time at Clemson, he has provided leadership and oversight to nearly every area, including the business office, facilities, grounds, fan experience and capital projects. He also helps manage external operations, which includes revenue generation and brand development, which includes communications, creative, broadcast productions and NIL. White is at the forefront of many operational programs, such as the creation of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT), engagement of professional development opportunities for aspiring athletic executives and streamlined the administrative end-of-season measurement.

Additionally, White serves in a key leadership role with IPTAY (Clemson Athletics’ fundraising arm), working with IPTAY operations and development strategies that include records in annual fund giving and major gifts during the past two years.

White has played a significant role in Clemson’s investment into student-athlete wellness, as the department recently expanded its sports, opened the Athlete Recovery Center and has construction underway on the 50,000-square-foot Performance and Wellness Facility, which opens in early 2025.

In the past two years on the field, Clemson has claimed four ACC Championships during the 2022-23 season, its most since 1998-99, and gone to four NCAA Quarterfinals in a single season for the first time since 1979-80. He’s been part of five head coaching searches, including Erik Bakich, who led the baseball team to an ACC Championship in his first season, and Amy Smith, the ACC Coach of the Year and NCAA Tournament participant in the program’s inaugural season.

Prior to his time at Clemson, White has served at Northwestern as Deputy AD and Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw a $110 million operating budget. While at Northwestern, he successfully coordinated nearly $450 million in capital project facility financing, managed department contract negotiations, advised on head coach staffing decisions, and collaborated on department strategy under Jim Phillips (current ACC Commissioner) and Derrick Gragg.

While at SMU as Chief Operating Officer, the men’s basketball program went 82-17 (including a 50-3 home record) which is the best three-year span in school history—which included several Top Ten rankings, multiple AAC Championships, and NCAA Tournament berths. His involvement has also included integral engagement with fundraising groups, developing a multimedia rights strategy, and several other initiatives to increase revenue.

White’s engagements outside of the department included positions on the Big Ten basketball working groups, the administrative council, as well as numerous other leadership committees at the Big Ten and LEAD1.

White has worked with head coaches who have won National Championships during their coaching career: Dabo Swinney- Football (2-time), Larry Brown- Men’s Basketball (NCAA Champion and NBA Champion), Kelly Amonte-Hiller- Women’s Lacrosse (8-time), Mike Noonan- Men’s Soccer (2- time), Tracy Fuchs- Women’s Field Hockey (2-time).

The Chattanooga, Tennessee native earned a bachelor of arts degree from North Carolina, where he was a member of the junior varsity basketball team. He also earned a master’s degree at Georgia State and an MBA at Kennesaw State. He and his wife, Jari have three children, Justin, Kamden and Kinley. During his prep years, White played at 8-time National Champion, Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA.

Graham Neff on Kevin White:

“I’ve known Kevin and his family for a long time, and I am beyond thrilled to welcome Kevin, Jari and their children to the Clemson Family. His combination of experience at Northwestern, Georgia State and SMU is a clear differentiator, and he is as well-respected an administrator as he is a person. Our values line up incredibly well – His experience at another prominent academic institution is extremely valuable, and he is a great fit with our leadership team. Kevin is going to make an immediate and long-lasting impact on Clemson Athletics.”