Alan White, a distinguished coach and athletics administrator at Elon from 1974-2006, will be one of 14 people to be honored in December in Charlotte, N.C., during the ACC football championship weekend.
Former Elon Director of Athletics Alan White will be one of 14 members of ACC football’s 2014 Class of Legends during ceremonies in December.
A Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame and Elon Sports Hall of Fame member, White will enter the class alongside 13 other football standouts – one from each ACC institution. The group will be honored during the ACC football championship weekend in Charlotte, N.C. There is a Night of Legends dinner on Dec. 5 and ceremonies in conjunction with the Dec. 6 game.
White was a first team All-ACC running back and Wake Forest MVP in 1961 after leading the ACC in rushing. He carried 93 times for 586 yards, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. As a senior he rushed for 131 yards vs. Virginia and added 113 yards in a win over North Carolina. White was a third-team Academic All-America selection following his senior campaign.
After graduation, he embarked on a coaching career that included stops at Elon and Mississippi State. White returned to the Elon coaching staff in 1974 and became director of athletics in 1979. He served in that position until his retirement in 2006.
While leading the Elon athletics program, White helped the athletics program transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and eventually to the NCAA Division I level. He was named the NAIA National Athletic Administrator of the Year in 1989 and was a five-time NAIA district administrator of the year. During his tenure at Elon, the maroon and gold won 56 conference championships, 12 conference Excellence Awards and four national championships while producing well over 500 all-conference performers and countless academically recognized student-athletes. White directed a major renovation of Elon’s athletics facilities and his hard work led to the design and construction of Rhodes Stadium (football), Irwin Belk Track, Latham Park (baseball), Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, Rudd Field (soccer) and Koury Field House and the full renovation and expansion of Koury Center. Rhodes Stadium was designated a 2003 Facility of Merit by Athletic Business.
In 2001, the Alamance County Sports Development Council honored White with its inaugural Distinguished Service in Sports Award. In 2002, the field at Irwin Belk Track in Elon’s athletics complex was named in honor of White and his wife, Norma. Named in 2006, the Alan J. White Bell Tower stands at the center of athletic facilities that were constructed during White’s tenure at Elon. Under White’s guidance, the Phoenix entered competition in the prestigious Southern Conference in 2003. The Whites have one son, Kyle and two grandsons, Tyler and Bryson.
A 1962 graduate of Wake Forest, White has previously been inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame.
2014 ACC Football Legends Class
Derrick Brooks (LB) – Florida State
Jesse Campbell (DB) – North Carolina State
Chris Castor (WR) – Duke
John Davis (OL) – Georgia Tech
Greg Ellis (DE) – North Carolina
Hugh Green (DE) – Pittsburgh
Jake Grove (OL) – Virginia Tech
Frank Minnifield (DB) – Louisville
Art Monk (WR) – Syracuse
Darrin Smith (LB) – Miami
Chris Snee (OL) – Boston College
George Welsh (Head Coach) – Virginia
Alan White (RB) – Wake Forest
Donnell Woolford (DB) – Clemson