Josh White came full circle when he returned to the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) in 2010 as its Senior Associate Athletics Director.
White began his career at the school in 1999 as its Compliance Director and Academic Coordinator. Three years later, he embarked on the journey that would lead him back to the school. First, he joined the NCAA as Associate Director for Membership Services in 2002, where he supervised the day-to-day operations of the Division I athletics certification program. While in Indianapolis, he was also the lead administrator for new staff training and professional development within the office. In addition, White was involved in the interpretation of NCAA rules, performed compliance reviews and was a presenter at NCAA regional seminars.
In 2006, he left the association to become Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Planning at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During his time there, White coordinated the university’s planning initiatives to streamline organizational processes, which included managing and coordinating the five-year Athletic Department Strategic Plan (2008-13). He also managed all facets of the NCAA rules-compliance education program for coaches, student-athletes, staff and boosters. Further, White helped set policy, develop goals and objectives and manage personnel in the compliance office.
At UNO, White serves as the primary liaison between several campus units and Intercollegiate Athletics, including Academic and Student Affairs. White also supervises the following administrative areas for UNO: leadership, strategic planning, Division I reclassification, communications, academics, compliance and student-athlete development. In addition, he is also the sport administrator for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
His well-rounded, and successful, experience in the field, is a major reason why White was selected in 2010 to serve a four-year term on the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) Board of Directors, where he currently serves as the organization’s President.
Given his role at NAAC and his successful track record, White seemed like a logical candidate for an interview in Sports Litigation Alert.
Question: Going straight from school to compliance director at UNO seems like a pretty big leap. How did that opportunity come about?
Answer: I was committed to working in college athletics after law school. Because of that, I looked at opportunities all over the country. I wasn’t getting many positive responses based on my lack of experience and contacts in the industry. One day in my job search I came across an advertisement for the Director of Compliance position at UNO. Since I was living in Omaha I thought if I could get in front of the AD and search committee I would have a decent chance at getting hired. I talked with anyone and everyone that I knew who had an affiliation with UNO. I think my passion and enthusiasm came across and even though I didn’t have any experience working in college athletics, I was lucky enough to get the job.
Q: What was your experience at the NCAA like? What did you take from it?
A: My experience at the NCAA was tremendous. I was part of a very dynamic, forward-thinking group in Membership Services (now known as Academic and Membership Affairs). One area where I gleaned some practical knowledge is the fact that the management at the NCAA tries to put their people in areas where they can use their innate talents or strengths. I have always subscribed to that philosophy and when I was part of the national office that was certainly true. I also learned the value of developing and maintaining professional relationships at the NCAA. Because the college athletics industry is truly a “small world” I can pick up the phone and call any of my friends that are at schools or conferences across the country at any time.
Q: What is the best part about working in compliance?
A: There are many great things about working in compliance but one in which I think may override the rest for me is the wonderful relationships that are forged. I think for compliance professionals to really excel in their job, they need to value the relationships that they develop with coaches, staff and student-athletes. The job for compliance professionals is to protect the integrity of the institution. At the same time those who work in the industry on a daily basis must be outstanding problem solvers, communicators, presenters, strategic planners and on occasion psychologists. Really, the job has evolved over time to be one of an executive level manager and leader from one of the office in the corner that had to police the department.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of the job?
A: Compliance professionals can be challenged in a number of areas but that is part of the fun. I think the biggest challenge these days is for the public (and sometimes those on campus) to understand the role of the compliance office. This “PR” problem is part self-inflicted as we haven’t been great about humanizing the profession over the last 20 years. We are getting better at this however, and NAAC has been a big part of the solution in the last 5 to 7 years.
Q: Why did you decide to take a leadership role in NAAC?
A: I received a call one day from Judy Van Horn whom I had known for many years. She asked if I would be interested in helping NAAC on a committee. I had no idea that 7 years later we would see so many changes to this association but I am proud of all of the initiatives that we have been part of. More than the work though, the lifelong friendships that have been formed through NAAC has been the best part of my involvement with NAAC.
Q: What are NAAC’s most pressing initiatives during your term in office?
A: NAAC has really done a lot in the last few years. There are countless achievements from the people that are working on NAAC committees and it has really elevated the profile of the association. This year a couple of the big initiatives are:
NAAC being part of the new NCAA governance structure in an influential/advisory capacity;
The development of a Mentoring institute at the NAAC Convention;
The formation of the Marketing and Strategic Communications Committee that has helped with both internal and external communication;
Expanding the services and resources for the NAAC membership.
There are many other important initiatives that are going on as we speak and the 1,000 members of NAAC have a lot to be proud of.
Q: Are we seeing more attorneys becoming involved in compliance? And why?
A: I’ve been asked this question a few times over the years. I’ve been working in college athletics for over 15 years and anecdotally I would say that there are more people with a law degree entering college athletics now than there were in the late ‘90’s. One of the reasons for this is the fact that many collegiate athletic programs have developed “law intern/extern” programs. This is the entry into the profession that many law students didn’t have access to many years ago. Another reason for the rise is the fact that those of us that have entered into the profession may speak at our law schools or local area law schools about non-traditional careers. When students hear about what we do on a daily basis, it may intrigue them into exploring the profession.
