Kevin White is AD at Duke University

If you scroll through the athletic web pages of some of the nation's top colleges there are a hand­ful of Long Island athletes and former Island natives on the administrative front. No one, however, may have as much power as Duke athletic director Kevin White, an Amityville High School graduate.

White, who was previously the head of athletics at the University of Notre Dame since 2001, became the seventh athletic director in Duke history in May.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity to come and be a part of a special program and an elite aca­demic institution at Duke," said White, who gradu­ated from Amityville in 1968. "I'm very proud of my Amityville roots. I feel like the experience of grow­Amityville's ing up in Amityville has had a lot to do with every­thing I've done." White is replacing Joe Alleva, who resigned in April to take the same position at Louisiana State University. While at Notre Dame, the Irish won four national championships - women's basketball (2001), fenc­ing (2003 and 2005) and women's soccer (2004), and he was instrumental in a facil­ities' master plan that saw many athletic structures open during his tenure. Sports Illustrated listed White as the third most powerful person in college football in August 2003 for his role with the Bowl Championship Series and The Sporting News listed him in its Power 100 as third among five names in the "front office" category in January 2004. Duke President Richard H. Brodhead is thrilled to add White to his esteemed staff of administrators. "Kevin White is in the first rank of athletics directors nationally and will make a perfect fit for Duke," said Brodhead in an article on the Duke University web­site. "He has led coaches and players to the highest levels of athletic attainment while always remem­bering the larger goals of education. He is a superb communicator and a famous developer of the talent of others. He knows the business of intercollegiate athletics. And the quality of experience of student athletes is his highest priority."

Aside from running track, White wasn't too in­volved in athletics at Amityville. He started coaching track at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Fla. and became an assistant cross country and track and field coach at Central Michigan University, then the head track and field coach at Southeast Mis­souri State University. Prior to working at Notre Dame, he was the athletic director at Arizona State University, Tulane University, the University of Maine and Loras Col­lege in Iowa. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Jo­seph's

College in Rensselaer, Ind., where he was a sprinter, then earned a master's degree in athletics admin­istration from Central Michigan, and a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University. Even with his travels and many important jobs over the years, White never forgot where he came from.

"I had a great childhood and learned a ton," he said.