Kevin White
Episode 365
2 FEB 2026
An Athletics Administration Leader & Educator who authored a book published last year called, “The Good Sport: Reflections on a Full Life in College Sports.” He is one of the most accomplished and respected athletic directors in American sports history. Over his 47-year career, he has shaped some of the most prominent programs in the nation, from Notre Dame to Duke, earning countless accolades and the enduring loyalty of those he mentored. As a testament to his unparalleled influence on athletics, 32 of his former assistants now lead sports programs across the United States, and four of his children head college sports programs. Sports Illustrated has dubbed his family the “First Family of Athletic Directors.”
Notable guest quotes:
“I was born and raised in a typical Irish Catholic family… and had the opportunity to move through that environment… My grandparents lived with us most of the time… I have Irish citizenship… dual citizenship.”
“We were very much an Irish Catholic family with an awful lot of connectivity to Catholic America. I attended St. Martin of Tours grade school, elementary school… and then later on I went to St. Joseph’s College… and… I was at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, a diocesan school… and then later on I spent time … at the University of Notre Dame.”
“My wife and I became a coaching duet, so to speak. We were both largely track and field coaches.”
“That tournament ran for about 20 years and hosted 32 small Catholic institutions from around the country wherein they would come to Dubuque, Iowa in January to play in this tournament – 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams – and we had just a lot of fun putting that together, but we had some of the great former Catholic and currently Catholic coaches in our country get involved.”
“The way the sports business has evolved I would have never perceived we would be where we are today… this thing has just changed dramatically and we’re not quite where we’re going to be. I think at this point we’re still in transition and I think I could say that about sport in any context, just not college athletics.”
“Len talked about writing his book largely about Notre Dame leadership and asked if I would be interested in writing … a segment … on Father Monk Malloy who had been the president for about 18 or 19 years… I was … really proud to have the opportunity to write about one of the great human beings that I had ever met or one of the great priests that have ever represented our faith.”
“We’re in a bit of a calamity state where we’ve deregulated the NCAA to a point of, we’ve almost destroyed the level playing field and it’s pay-for-play and schools are buying players from other institutions.”
“My ministry was probably not a heck of a lot different than yours… I’ve been in love with being an educator for almost 50 years… but I’ve loved the opportunity to work with young people and for them to think big, dream big, and be really aspirational, just not in sport but in education and also in life.”
“I’ve always kind of felt that … to do the right thing when nobody’s watching, I think, is what we teach our kids as parents.”
“I think we’re all here to become bigger, faster, and stronger but more importantly better and to serve each other and I’ve always felt a commitment to do that.”
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