On Thursday, the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Donde Plowman announced that she has extended the contract for Danny White as Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director until 2030. White’s extension will raise his base salary to $2.75 Million a year. This makes the Vice Chancellor the highest paid Athletic Director in the Southeastern Conference. Texas’ AD who makes $2.2 Million a year will now be the Conference’s second highest.
In a quote from Chancellor Plowman, “Danny is visionary — a leader in our conference and across the country — and is focused every day on creating the very best experiences for our student-athletes, our fans and our athletics department. That focus and commitment are yielding extraordinary results across all sports.”
According to an article from Tennessee Athletics, Under White’s leadership, Tennessee Athletics has seen unprecedented success, culminating in the best overall year in its history in 2023-24. Among the highlights:
- Tennessee was one of only two Power Five schools to send every team to postseason last year — a first in UT history.
- Tennessee finished third in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings for the first time since the award began in 1993. Two of Tennessee’s three top 10 Directors’ Cup finishes have come under White’s watch.
- Tennessee won its third straight SEC All-Sports Trophy, something that had never been done before White’s arrival.
- Baseball won its first national championship under Head Coach Tony Vitello, the university’s first national championship of any kind since 2009.
- The two best athletics department GPAs in school history occurred in the fall 2023 semester with a 3.40 and spring 2024 with a 3.37.
- The Tennessee Fund reported its third consecutive record year across multiple fundraising metrics in fiscal year 2024, closing the year on June 30 with a total of $139.7 million raised.