Former Elon athletics director Alan White will be inducted into Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame.
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Former Elon Director of Athletics Alan White will be one of five members of the 2011 class of the Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame. White, a former Wake Forest football player, will enter the hall alongside football player Paul Kiser, track and cross country star Janelle Kraus, soccer player Neil Covone and men’s basketball standout Randolph Childress.
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 Elon Sports Hall of Fame, the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame.
White will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during halftime ceremonies of Wake Forest’s football game against Florida State on Oct. 8. The inductees will also be honored at a dinner at the Benton Convention Center on Friday evening. The Hall of Fame dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. and the cost is $50 per person. Those wishing to attend the event should contact Anne Gordon (gordonad@wfu.edu) at Wake Forest University.