White Contract Amended

ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White signed a contract amendment Tuesday, reaffirming his long-term commitment to the Knights.
 
White's contract term is five years, but is automatically extended for one year annually on the anniversary date of his hire. 
 
"Shawn and I are committed to UCF and Orlando," White said. "We absolutely love it here and I believe, with confidence, that I have the best AD job in the nation. I've said since I got here that our goal is to build a Top 25 intercollegiate athletics program. I believe we are well on our way to doing that, and it's going to be a fun ride! UCF Athletics is going to be a powerhouse in the world of college athletics and I couldn't be more excited to lead this department into what is sure to be a very bright future."
 
White came to UCF in December of 2015. Since that time, he has overseen an athletics department that has accomplished a great deal.
 
"I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Hitt for believing in the collective vision that we began building when I was hired to lead this department," White said. "I must also thank Dr. Hitt and many others in leadership roles at UCF for their faith and belief in our team and the direction we're taking UCF Athletics. As I've said many times, I'll put our roster of head coaches and team of administrative leaders up against anyone in the country. The right people are onboard and we have a lot of work left to do."
 
UCF President John C. Hitt lauded White's accomplishments at UCF.
 
"Danny has done a remarkable job leading the Knights to success in competition, in the classroom and in fundraising," President Hitt said. "I am pleased that he shares my vision that the sky is the limit for our athletics program."

Already this year, White has overseen a department that has enjoyed unprecedented, historic success in football under head coach Scott Frost. Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak led her women's soccer team to a Top 10 ranking and another berth in the NCAA Championship tournament. The men's soccer program reached the American Athletic Conference Championship match in head coach Scott Calabrese's first season at the helm. Last year, based on number of postseason appearances, 2016-17 was the most successful year in UCF's NCAA Division I history. In all, 11 of UCF's 16 programs made postseason appearances in 2016-17 and the 2017-18 year is shaping up to be just as successful.
 
The UCF football team – winless in 2015 – has won a school record 10 straight games to open the season and is ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation. The men's basketball team improved by a dozen victories last year, winning 24 games and advancing to the NIT Final Four under head coach Johnny Dawkins. The women's basketball team advanced to the WNIT and improved by 14 victories under head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson last season. The men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 for the first time since 2005 under head coach John Roddick. The baseball team won the 2017 American Athletic Conference regular season title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 under head coach Greg Lovelady. White hired each of those coaches during his first seven months at UCF.
 
In addition to the success of UCF's new coaches, the Knights also saw conference championships from Jeanette Bolden's indoor track and field team, Becky Cramer's rowing squad and Emily Marron's women's golf team last year. Bryce Wallor's men's golf team won an NCAA Regional and finished No. 14 in the nation.
 
In addition to on-field success, the Knights have continued their high standards in the classroom under White's leadership.
 
As an athletic department, Knight student-athletes have continued a streak of 19 straight semesters with a 3.0 grade-point average or better. More than 60 percent of the Knights posted a 3.0 GPA or better in the recently-completed spring semester, leading to a department-record 3.27 semester GPA.
 
UCF continues to excel in NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) measurements as well. As a department, UCF boasts a GSR of 94 percent, up one percentage point from last year. The Knights' GSR score was the best of any public NCAA FBS institution for a fourth straight year.
 
White has overseen transformational fund-raising success at UCF as well. During his tenure, UCF Athletics was the beneficiary of the largest cash pledge ever committed to the university by an individual alumnus and has seen more than $13 million committed toward UCF Athletics' $25 million athletics village vision. Kenneth G. Dixon committed more than $5 million to establish the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village. Ground was recently broken on the Roth Athletics Center, which will house the UCF Athletics administration as well as expand football operations. Tony and Sonja Nicholson recently donated $2 million to support the Athletics Village vision. John Euliano committed $1.5 million toward the renovation of the UCF Baseball Complex that will become John Euliano Park. Bob and Carol Garvy committed $1 million to establish the Garvy Center for Student-Athlete Nutrition.
 
Additionally, an aggressive fund-raising campaign spearheaded by White for the UCF Football Excellence Fund has seen nearly $4.5 million committed over the next five years. The Football Excellence Fund is earmarked to provide exceptional operational resources for the Knights to maintain and improve upon the team's current levels of success.
 
UCF Athletics has recorded numerous other accomplishments during White's tenure. He led the way in completion of The Knights' Charge – UCF Athletics' strategic plan. He was also behind many game-day experience improvements including new video boards and ribbon boards at both Spectrum Stadium and CFE Arena and the activation on IOA Plaza at home football games such as the Tailgate Concert Series and Knight Walk. Behind the scenes, White was responsible for the introduction of the Rise and Conquer Initiative, which will help UCF Athletics enhance funding for athletic scholarships and grow its operating budget through ticket sales, annual giving and corporate revenue. He also oversaw UCF Athletics transition to bringing its multimedia rights in house, creating an opportunity for enhanced revenue for the department.