Tennessee, FAU sq. off in Candy 16 with brothers as ADs

NEW YORK — As the NCAA Event bracket was launched 11 days in the past, each Danny White and Brian White knew solely one in all their faculties may get to the Remaining 4 earlier than they knew who Tennessee or Florida Atlantic would play to open the yearly showcase. Three full areas had been known as with no point out of Tennessee or Florida Atlantic, the place the brothers 4 years aside in age served as every Candy 16 consultant’s athletic director.

When Owls drew a No. 9 seed and the Volunteers’ identify was known as quickly after with the East Area’s No. 4, a attainable matchup at Madison Sq. Backyard and a collision course between a prized program below the watch of every sibling got here into focus, two wins away for every. Florida Atlantic wanted a last-second shot towards Memphis and to de-slipper Cinderella and the not-so-ugly stepbrothers from Fairleigh Dickinson to make it to Manhattan. Tennessee survived Louisiana and thrived towards Duke to make it again to the Candy 16 for the primary time since 2019. Now one White watched as one in all their packages superior to the doorstep of the Remaining 4. The opposite left city, as an athletic director’s job is rarely accomplished.

“I’m rooting for Tennessee in each sport that they’re not taking part in FAU,” Brian White, the Owls’ athletic director informed Deadspin Thursday afternoon. “There’s somewhat little bit of an ungainly element of it. Now we’ve accomplished it earlier than and we each know that we wish the opposite one to achieve success. I feel that individuals assume there’s a aggressive brotherhood to it, which there could be if it was something that didn’t imply a lot.”

Earlier than the elder White turned Tennessee’s athletic director in January 2021, the brothers’ faculties had clashed for practically three years when each had been employed within the state of Florida. The youthful brother got here to FAU in March 2018 and Danny had been atop Central Florida’s athletic division since 2015. There has by no means been a duel between faculties fairly like this postseason conflict 4 victories from a nationwide championship. The varsity’s profiles are vastly completely different too. That is Florida Atlantic’s second journey to the NCAA Event and the primary time the varsity has received video games in The Huge Dance. The Volunteers have been to 25 NCAA Tournaments. Whereas the Owls had been picked to complete fifth in Convention USA this season, one particular person outdoors Boca Raton who knew how proficient FAU was earlier than the season started was Danny White.

“I’ve been following all of them yr. I understand how good they’re. So it doesn’t shock me that they made it up to now,” Danny White informed Deadspin Thursday morning, simply earlier than boarding a airplane from Knoxville to New York. “I can’t say that I’m shocked that the matchup was taking place after I noticed the bracket.”

The brothers don’t also have a pleasant wager deliberate for the Huge Apple showdown. They’re two of 5 siblings with Georgia head males’s basketball coach sandwiched between them in ages. The White’s two sisters characterize the bookends of Kevin and Jane White’s 5 kids. Kevin White was most not too long ago Duke’s athletic director from 2008-21. Mike White additionally had Owls’ present head coach Dusty Might on his employees at Louisiana Tech and Florida for seven seasons. The White’s household historical past made Thursday’s sport somewhat sweeter, figuring out how far all concerned have come within the sports activities business and a pregame assembly between Danny and Brian was within the works all week. Each know as soon as tipoff occurred, nothing else moreover the sport deserved their consideration, although they each weren’t teaching within the sport.

“The larger the sport, the extra stress, the extra butterflies I feel all of us get,” Danny White stated. “However that’s the great thing about competitors. You wish to play in these huge video games, you wish to care extra. And if we’re lucky sufficient to win tonight, we’re going to care much more on Saturday.”

Danny White spent late Thursday morning packing for “an undetermined quantity of days” on the street. With the Volunteers’ loss to FAU, he’ll be flying to Seattle for the Girl Vols Candy 16 matchup towards top-seeded Virginia Tech. He would have been current at The Backyard once more if Tennessee reached its second Elite Eight. Brian White noticed the momentum at FAU earlier than 99.9 p.c of sports activities followers and can assist Florida Atlantic with its transfer to the American Athletic Convention this summer time. And with the Owls’ introduction to a bigger swath of Americana, the second-youngest White had a tough time placing into phrases what the sport towards his older brother’s faculty and the Candy 16 from America’s largest city space meant to the small however mighty Florida Atlantic neighborhood.

“It’s simply unbelievable,” Brian White stated. ”I hate to make use of odd superlatives, however the pleasure among the many fan base is in contrast to we’ve ever seen.” And for one of many brothers, extra historical past may occur this weekend.