Mike White walked into the Gator Room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Monday morning wearing an orange and blue tie that was similar yet different from the multitude of ties that former Florida coach Billy Donovan was typically clad in throughout his 19 seasons in Gainesville.
That’s what UF athletics director Jeremy Foley hopes he’s getting from White, Florida’s new head coach of the men’s basketball team – similar to Donovan, yet different.
White, 38, was introduced Monday for the first time as head coach of the Gators, and aside from the given wardrobe similarities, White will attempt to carve his own path rather than follow in Donovan’s footsteps.
"It’s an absolute honor of mine to replace Billy Donovan, one of the best coaches in the history of this game," said White, his slight southern accent a far cry from Donovan’s New York drawl. "I have tremendous respect and admiration for the legacy that he leaves, and it’s my charge to continue the momentum that he’s maintained for an amazing 19 years."
White, who previously coached at Louisiana Tech until Thursday, was born in Dunedin, a small Florida town of around 35,000 people, but he said he lived there for only two weeks as an infant.
His father, Kevin White, the director of athletics at Duke University since 2008, moved the family across the country frequently as he pursued a career in coaching.
"Two weeks old we move, and as I’m growing up as sort of an Army brat is the best way to describe it," Mike said, "Hey, my dad’s an athletic director. What’s an athletic director? I finally just started telling my classmates my dad’s military."
When Mike was 4, the family moved to Missouri where his father would serve as the head track and field coach at Southeast Missouri State University in 1981-82.
But White wanted to play basketball rather than run track, and he focused his talents on playing for Jesuit High School in New Orleans.
When Ole Miss came calling with an athletic scholarship, White jumped at the chance to play Southeastern Conference basketball for coach Rob Evans.
White would become a part of multiple monumental moments as a Rebel — the team’s first NCAA tournament victory, a defeat of reigning national champion Kentucky and back-to-back SEC West titles — and would later become a graduate assistant at the university under current head coach Andy Kennedy.
He even met his wife, Kira, an All-SEC volleyball player at Ole Miss, and the couple found out they had more in common than their passion for SEC athletics.
"I would ask mom, where was I born again? Dunedin, Florida? Where’s Dunedin?," White said. "I met my wife at University of Mississippi, and we met there, and she was from Dunedin, Florida. And incredible how it all works out, and she grew up here, of course. She’s just as excited, if not more excited to come back home."
It took some convincing of the couple’s’ five children, but the White family is back in Florida where they feel they belong. The hardest part, White said, was coaxing the little ones to cheer for the Gators.
"My twin boys who are 5 years old were sick when I told them that we were moving. We weren’t any longer going to be Bulldogs," White said. "Jeremy (Foley) had left some Gator hats, and they loved the Gator hats. They were sporting them around the house, but they didn’t like that we weren’t going to be Bulldogs.
"But when I said we were moving to Florida, they turned quickly. Especially when we talked about the beach, and we talked about grandparents, and we talked about Mickey (Mouse), and they were sold. We still have to convert them, but everyone in the family is excited about living in Florida without question."
If anyone is more excited than the White family about the hiring, it’s Foley.
Foley said that White’s name kept coming up in the coaching search, and it soon became apparent there was only one choice for the job.
"We love the fact that he coached in this league, played in this league, love the fact that he recruited the state of Florida," Foley said. "He’s done an unbelievable job (at) Louisiana Tech. He’s a winner. That excited us."
After signing a six-year, $12-million contract almost immediately after Foley presented a copy to Mike and Kira, White said he in return handed Foley a packet describing his goals to accomplish during his first 100 days as Florida’s head coach.
In White’s eyes, the job started the second he touched pen to paper in his Ruston, Louisiana, living room.
"Obviously, we want to hit the ground running with recruiting," White said. "I think at the University of Florida we can recruit nationally. But I also understand how important it is to recruit our state, especially a state that’s as fertile as it is.
"I’ve always enjoyed recruiting this state. Not only because I liked traveling to Florida, but because there are really good players here. And we’re not going to get them all, but we’re going to recruit them all."
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UF men's basketball coach Mike White speaks at his introductory press conference on May 11 in the Gator Room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
