Reactions are coming in to the hiring of Kevin White as Duke's new director of athletics, and they're pretty positive. Coach K, who knew him before he was hired, is very excited, and Mike Brey has great things to say about him as well.
We've heard from a few people by e-mail who are close to the program and they seem genuinely excited also.
In his press conference, White said âSimply stated, I am thrilled to be coming to Duke University. I have the highest regard for this institution and am excited about the opportunities in front of us. I look forward to building great relationships with President Brodhead and the University leadership, the faculty, our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and the wider Durham community.â
Duke and Notre Dame obviously share a lot in common - first-rate academic schools, a passion for athletics, and a legendary team in a revenue sport.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Duke grad Gene Corrigan, who was also Notre Dame's A.D. at one point in his career, played a role in the hire as a consultant.
Also interesting: White's son played football for David Cutcliffe at Mississippi, and women's basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie took classes from him when they were both at Maine.
White comes to Duke as a proven fundraiser and as a guy who has done some first-class facility improvements. Less impressive are his football moves (although this article places the blame elsewhere and makes a good argument for why White might want to leave). He gave Bob Davies an extension and then fired him the next year. He replaced him initially with George O' Leary who was fired, after a resume scandal; Tyrone Willingham was hired to replace him and then fired after three seasons (this was done by committee, with White voting to retain him). Finally, he hired Charlie Weis, who won just three games this past season and has an overall mediocre, though winning record in South Bend (at Duke they'd build a statue to him).
After his first season, Weis was rewarded with a 10-year extension; since then, while he as recruited well, he hasn't won to Notre Dame's standards and some players have left with some hard feelings.
At Duke, though, football should be as stable as it has been in years, with Cutcliffe in charge, and basketball is good to go for a while, although Coach K is at some point going to step aside.
Duke's biggest priorities right now are money and facilities. If White manages to leave Duke with scholarships fully endowed, for instance, he'll be a hero.
He could become a folk hero if he did something meaningful about bathrooms at Wallace Wade before next season