Charlotte introduces Kevin White as new athletics director focusing on revenue and winning

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber was looking for a new athletics director, fundraising and revenue generation were non-negotiables for the hire.

Gaber believes she found someone who checks those boxes and more in Kevin White.

White was officially introduced as the program’s eighth athletics director on Thursday at Halton Arena.

Formerly the Deputy Athletics Director at Clemson, White received in-person support from Tigers AD Graham Neff, as well as ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips at the news conference.

A big part of White’s job will be to help revenue sports like football and men’s basketball consistently compete for championships, which should help raise money.

But what comes first, the winning, or the money?

“We do it on parallel paths at a time,” White said. “We’ve obviously got to be successful in football and men’s basketball. But we’ve also got to give people a reason to come out.”

White, who was instrumental in bringing the Savannah Bananas to play at Clemson’s football stadium, said he’ll look at non-sporting events to fill seats at the program’s on-campus facilities too, in an effort to pick up more revenue.

“Having different outside events and opportunities where people could come to campus and think it’s an amazing place to be,” White said. “That’s how we’re going to build it here in Charlotte.”

Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.

You can stream WCNC Charlotte on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, just download the free WCNC+ app to get the news that impacts you.