White takes over an athletic department that is still buzzing from FAU’s best football seasonFAU
FAU this weekend hired Missouri Deputy AD/External Relations Brian White as its newest AD, giving him a "five-year contract," according to Shandel Richardson of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. He replaces Pat Chun, who "left for Washington State in mid-January." He is "expected to be formally introduced on campus in the coming week." White takes over an athletic department that is still "buzzing from FAU’s best football season," in which it went 11-3 and won a bowl game. The school also announced Brian Battle, who served as interim AD, will "return to his previous role" of Senior Associate AD/Internal Operations (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 3/4). In West Palm Beach, Jake Elman noted White comes from a "prestigious athletic family." White’s father, Kevin, is Duke AD and his older brother, Danny, holds the same role at UCF. His brother, Mike, is the basketball coach at Florida (PALM BEACH POST, 3/4).
STILL ON THE PAYROLL: In Knoxville, Blake Toppmeyer noted more than three months after being ousted from his role as Tennessee’s AD, John Currie "remains suspended with pay while the university works toward a resolution." UT Vice Chancellor for Communications Ryan Robinson confirmed that Currie "continues to be paid under the terms of his contract." Ohio Univ. professor David Ridpath said that the most likely resolution is that Currie and UT will "reach a settlement that would amount to less than the buyout Currie would be owed if he were to be fired without cause." Ridpath: "They’re going to come to a mutual agreement where probably John Currie won’t get everything he wants and the university won’t get everything they want. I don’t think the university probably has enough to fire him for cause." Currie's salary is $900,000. His contract runs through June 30, 2022 and "calls for him to receive a $25,000 raise on July 1 on each remaining year of the contract." Ridpath on Currie's future said, "He’s still pretty well-respected around college athletics. I think he’s somebody that schools would definitely think about hiring" (Knoxville NEWS SENTINEL, 3/4).
