In the huddle with AD Brian White as FAU moves to the AAC

Only on Today’s Paige, the Podcast, an exclusive interview with Florida Atlantic University’s vice president and athletic director Brian White as FAU joins the American Athletic Conference. The AAC now grows to a 14-team league and the Owls sit just one step below Power 5 status. Hear White’s comments on the realignments, expansions and celebration as well as his thoughts on name/image/likeness (NIL), recruiting, coaching, the messages he shares with student-athletes and what life on and off the field is like for an AD. Plus, entertaining and inspiring White family stories surrounding Brian and his father Kevin (former VP & director of athletics at Duke University) and siblings Mike (head basketball coach at University of Florida), Danny (director of athletics at University of Tennessee), Maureen and Mariah (SMU assistant AD). Listen in on Today’s Paige as we take you to Boca Raton where they “play in paradise!”

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BOCA RATON, FL — Talk about a win for the Florida Atlantic University Owls before they even take the field in Charlotte.

Just hours before Thursday’s game came a significant announcement from the American Athletic Conference. The AAC will officially add FAU, UAB, Texas-San Antonio, Rice, North Texas and Charlotte to the league. This move replaces the schools that are leaving for the Big 12 Conference and creates a 14-team AAC.

For FAU athletic director Brian White and all of the owls behind him, this is a big moment.

“We're really excited. This is a huge opportunity for us, not only as an athletic department, but as a university. There's been high ambition at this place for a long time. Coach Howard Schnellenberger used to always say that the only variable is time and we're going to win a national championship. I see those things coming more and more to fruition,” says White.

White says the move will elevate the owls on many levels: athletics, academics, exposure, branding, revenue, recruiting and enrollment. According to the university, the AAC’s partnership with ESPN's family of networks includes 40 conference-controlled football games and 60 conference-controlled men's basketball games airing on ESPN linear outlets per year.

“With our transition into a new league, our goal is going to be to consistently win conference championships across the board in all sports and make our university proud. Our mission is to create a brighter future for FAU through student athletes, “ White shares. “We take it very seriously that we have a growing, awesome university, right in paradise just 1.8 miles from the beach. We love our university. We know that if we can have a lot of athletic success, that the university is only going to be better for it. We will be a lot better academically and recruit many more students. The old Flutie effect.. it’s been proven nationally that athletic success contributes to university success and that’s our goal,” says White.

White took some time on Today’s Paige, the Podcast to also discuss name/image/likeness (NIL), recruiting techniques, the joys and challenges of the job and the secrets to finding a good head coach. You could say these are techniques White started learning at an early age as his father, Kevin, was a lifelong collegiate administrator and athletic director who recently retired as AD at Duke University.

“I still remember as a kid when my dad would be in coaching searches, he typically would do it from our home in the basement with some of his senior staff. I still remember my brother and I hiding out in the storage room listening in at times, going in and looking back and it was all binders. Now it's all digital, but looking at their binders and seeing who they were looking at and why. It's just a fascinating thing that we get to be a part of,” says White.

Some of White’s siblings also work in the collegiate sports world including Mike, head basketball coach at University of Florida, Danny, director of athletics at University of Tennessee and Mariah, SMU assistant AD. White credits both of his parents for instilling in him the values and lessons he often passes on today.

White encourages his coaching staff to be competitive while remaining empathetic and winning the right way. He says of all times, leading an athletic department during a pandemic requires empathy, patience, understanding and teamwork.

FAU will soon hire a full-time mental health professional to support athletes and coaches throughout the entire 19-sport athletic department, a first for the university. While FAU has leaned on talented mental health professionals from outside the school, this move will allow more consistent support inside the program.

It is a solid program and one that will no doubt grow strong as it heads into the AAC. White encourages the entire South Florida community to join the owls on any of their fields throughout the school year.

“Our biggest goal is to be the hometown team for this community and we know that that can happen from us just having success on our campus We want to do everything we can to bring people in and invite them to try out our product,” says White.