Ken White Named Interim Athletics Director :: White has been associated with the athletics department since 1999, serving as the faculty representative.

White has been associated with the athletics department since 1999, serving as the faculty representative.

Feb. 6, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Ken White, Associate Director of Research in the Center for Integrated BioSystems, and a professor in the Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences Department, has been appointed interim athletics director by Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht it was announced on Wednesday.

White, who began his employment at Utah State University in 1991, has been associated with the athletics department since 1999, serving as the faculty representative. He assumes the duties of Randy Spetman, USU's athletics director since July, 2004, who accepted the athletics director post at Florida State University on Monday.

"Ken knows the operation, he's been the faculty athletic representative for eight years and he's been on a number of NCAA committees," said Albrecht. "He played a key role in helping us with our recertification process, he knows the people and he knows the budget, so this was an easy appointment to make as we go through the search.

"There were lots of options and we could have gone a number of different directions with this," Albrecht continued. "I've had some conversations with some of the senior associate directors who are working through in their own minds whether they want to be a candidate. Our process at Utah State University has been that interims are not considered candidates and so by appointing one of them interim it would have taken them out of the process, and I didn't want to do that. They need to make the decision they need to make."

"My goal and plan as interim athletics director is to keep the program moving in the direction it is going," said White. "There is a lot of strength in the department and we've accomplished several very important things, not the least of which is the Athletics Center in Romney Stadium. My goal is to make sure we don't skip a beat and that our student-athletes have all the resources available to them that they need to be successful both in the classroom as well as on the playing field."

President Albrecht also announced the appointment of an athletic director search committee that will be chaired by Utah State University Provost Raymond Coward.

No timeline has been established for an athletic director appointment, but Coward and the committee will begin working immediately.