It was a different type of Selection Sunday for Georgia Basketball in 2022. While the college basketball universe was focused on the release of the NCAA Tournament bracket for “March Madness,” Georgia made waves in the news cycle just as the selection show was ending by announcing Mike White as the Bulldogs’ new head coach at 7:54 p.m. ET.

“I am beyond excited for the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program at the University of Georgia,” White said when becoming the Bulldogs’ head coach. “President Jere W. Morehead and Athletics Director Josh Brooks are united in a strong vision for UGA Basketball which resonated with me deeply. They believe, as I do, in developing our young men as students, athletes and leaders, as well as providing them with the support they need to be successful. I believe in the limitless future of Georgia Basketball.”

White, who averaged more than 22 wins per season in 11 campaigns as head coach at Florida and Louisiana Tech, was named the 23rd head men's basketball coach of the Georgia Bulldogs on March 13, 2022. White owns the unique distinction of being named Coach of the Year in three different conferences, securing 2017 SEC, 2015 Conference USA and 2014 WAC honors.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Mike White and his family to Athens,” said Josh Brooks, Georgia’s J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics. “We have witnessed Coach White to be a leader of men, as well as a proven winner with an impressive postseason body of work. We want to compete for national success in all 21 of our sports, and we believe that he is the coach that can build Georgia Basketball to a consistent winner on the collegiate basketball landscape.”

White's first season in Athens was labeled as successful. The Bulldogs upped their win total from the previous season by 10 victories, the second-largest regular-season increase by any Power 5 program. The immediate future looks even brighter as White and his staff signed four top-100 prep prospects and a quintet of impressive transfers. Georgia was one of only three programs to have both its classes of freshmen and transfers ranked among the top-20 nationally by On3.com.

White’s entire basketball career has a model of consistent winning and postseason play.

White spent the seven seasons prior to his arrival in Athens at Florida, compiling a 142-88 record and leading the Gators to six postseason bids including four NCAA appearances. In four campaigns at Louisiana Tech between 2011-15, White’s Bulldogs compiled a 101-40 record, won a trio of conference regular-season titles and advanced to three NITs.

As a head coach, eight of his teams at Louisiana Tech and Florida reached the 20-win mark, while four notched 27 or more victories. White’s squads advanced to postseason play during nine of 11 possible seasons. During another, when the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, the Gators were a consensus pick for an NCAA Tournament bid. Those teams made solid usage of the opportunities afforded them. Florida was one of only six programs nationally to win a game during each of the four NCAA Tournaments contested between 2017-21, headlined by a trip to the 2017 “Elite Eight.” At Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs won three conference titles – 2013 WAC and 2014 and 2015 Conference USA – and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals in both 2014 and 2015.

White helped five more teams reach 20 wins during his 11 campaigns as an assistant and associate head coach at Ole Miss and Jacksonville State, with the Rebels capturing a pair of SEC West titles. Ole Miss appeared in four NITs during White’s seven season, reaching the semifinals in both 2008 and 2010.

As a player, White was a four-year starter at Ole Miss, including SEC West title teams in 1997 and 1998. He helped the Rebels string together three-consecutive 20-wins seasons from 1997-99, with each culminating with an NCAA Tournament bid – both firsts in program history. White fondly lists his proudest achievement as a player as dribbling out the clock of the Rebels’ 72-70 victory over Villanova in 1999 to give Ole Miss its first-ever “March Madness” victory.

Totaling up the aforementioned, White has been a part of 16 20-win teams during his 27 seasons as a college basketball player and coach, capturing seven regular-season conference regular-season titles and earning 17 postseason bids.


Highly Successful In Gainesville
Florida earned six consecutive postseason bids under White, reaching the 2016 NIT quarterfinals, becoming the only SEC program to qualify for four consecutive NCAAs from 2017-21 and advancing to the second round of the 2022 NIT.

From an accolades standpoint, White was voted as 2017 SEC Coach of the Year by both league coaches and the Associated Press after Florida finished second in the SEC and reached the NCAA “Elite Eight.” He also was honored as the District Coach of the Year by the NABC and USWBA that season. In addition, Canyon Berry was tabbed 2017 SEC Sixth Man of the Year, seven different Gators were named All-SEC a combined eight times, three players were named to the SEC All-Freshman team and two were selected for the SEC All-Defensive unit during White’s tenure.

Florida recorded 21 wins during White’s first campaign in Gainesville, matching the program record for a first-year head coach. The Gators posted their first top-10 win in nearly five years by topping ninth-ranked West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and captured their first road victory ever against a Big Ten program by defeating Ohio State in the NIT.

White led Florida to the “Elite Eight” and 27 victories during his second season, just the eighth time in program history the Gators won as many games. In addition, White’s two-season tally of 48 wins ranked as the fourth-most in SEC history. While leading the Gators to a successful campaign on the floor, White and his staff also put together a 2017 recruiting class ranked ninth nationally by ESPN that included three top-10 prospects.

In 2017-18, Florida tied for the most wins over top-25 teams nationally, knocking off six ranked foes. The Gators followed that with a late-season surge in 2018-19. After starting 12-11, Florida finished 20-16 and upset a pair of ranked foes in postseason play – No. 9 LSU in the SEC Tournament and No. 20 Nevada in the NCAA Tournament.

White collected his 100th win at Florida during the 2019-20 season. His pace of 158 games to reach that milestone was second-fastest in program history only to Billy Donovan’s 154 contests. The Gators were denied a fourth-straight NCAA bid due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they quickly continued their streak of reaching – and winning – during “March Madness” in 2021. Florida’s NCAA bid in 2021 was even more impressive considering Keyontae Johnson, the Preseason SEC Player of the Year, suffered a medical emergency in the fourth game of the season and did not return to action.

A Record-Setting Pace At Louisiana Tech
At Louisiana Tech, White’s produced the best winning percentage (.716) of any coach in the program’s history as he led the Bulldogs to the Western Athletic Conference regular-season crown in 2013 before winning back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2014 and 2015. The Bulldogs reached the NIT in each of those campaigns and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2014 and 2015. In NIT play, Louisiana Tech recorded a trio of impressive road victories, toppling Florida State in 2013, Georgia in 2014 and Texas A&M in 2015.

White was named WAC Coach of the Year in 2013 and Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2015. He coached the 2015 C-USA Player of the Year, two WAC Newcomers of the Year, the 2014 C-USA Sixth Man of the Year and the 2014 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, four Bulldogs combined to earn nine All-Conference certificates during that span.

White’s most impressive coaching effort in Ruston may have been with his first team. Louisiana Tech started 8-10 before going 10-6 the rest of the way and advancing to the championship game of the WAC Tournament. The Bulldogs then went 83-24 over the next three seasons under White.

From Pro Player to Student To Assistant Coach
White was a four-year starter at Ole Miss and helped the Rebels to a pair of SEC West titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances and the school's first-ever “March Madness” victory. White excelled off the court as well, earning a spot on two SEC Academic Honor Rolls and being named to the 1999 SEC Good Works Team.

After being invited to the Utah Jazz’s summer training camp, White spent the 1999-2000 season playing professionally for the IBL’s New Mexico Slam and in England before returning to Ole Miss in the spring of 2000 to complete his B.A. in business. The day after his last Final Exam, White made the four-hour drive from Oxford to Jacksonville, Ala., to begin his coaching career at Jacksonville State the next day – literally – welcoming recruits to campus.

White spent four years at Jacksonville State and helped the Gamecocks secure their first-ever 20-win season in 2003. He then returned to his alma mater and spent seven successful seasons while developing a reputation as one of the nation’s top assistant coaches. White helped the Rebels to four NIT berths, including two runs to the NIT Final Four, and SEC West titles in 2007 and 2010.

Born and Married Into Athletic Families
Though he was born in Dunedin, Fla., White lived all around the U.S. as his father’s career in athletic administration progressed. His dad, Kevin, was the Athletic Director at Duke from 2008 until he retired at the end of August 2021 Previously, Kevin was AD at Loras College (1982-87), Maine (1987-91), Tulane (1991-96), Arizona State (1996-2000) and Notre Dame (2000-08).

Both of Mike’s brothers and one of his sisters are also in college athletics.

His brother Danny became the AD at Tennessee in 2021 after serving in the same role at Buffalo from 2012-15 and UCF from 2015-21. He played basketball at Towson and Notre Dame.  

His brother Brian has been the AD at Florida Atlantic since 2018. He was Deputy AD for external relations at Missouri before moving to Boca Raton.

His sister Mariah (Chappell), who swam collegiately at Duke, was Assistant AD for Administration at SMU, where she worked from 2017-23.

White is married to the former Kira Zschau, who was an All-SEC volleyball player at Ole Miss and also has a law degree from Ole Miss. They have five children – two daughters, Rylee and Maggie; twin boys, Collin and Keegan; and another son, Dillon.
 

Mike White Career Coaching Timeline
2000-03	Jacksonville State	Assistant Coach
2003-04	Jacksonville State	Associate Head Coach
2004-11	Ole Miss	Assistant Coach
2011-15	Louisiana Tech	Head Coach
2015-22	Florida	Head Coach
2022-present	Georgia	Head Coach

 

Mike White Head Coaching Record
Season	Overall	Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Fin.	Postseason
Louisiana Tech
2011-12	18-16	.529	6-8	.429	5th
2012-13	27-7	.794	16-2	.889	1st	NIT 2nd Rd. (1-1)
2013-14	29-8	.784	13-3	.813	t-1st	NIT QF (2-1)
2014-15	27-9	.750	15-3	.833	1st	NIT QF (2-1
Totals	101-40	.716	50-16	.758		3 (NIT 5-3)
Florida
2015-16	21-15	.583	9-9	.500	t-8th	NIT QF (2-1)
2016-17	27-9	.750	14-4	.778	2nd	NCAA Elite Eight (3-1)
2017-18	21-13	.618	11-7	.611	3rd	NCAA Rd. of 32 (1-1)
2018-19	20-16	.556	9-9	.500	8th	NCAA Rd. of 32 (1-1)
2019-20	19-12	.613	11-7	.611	t-4th	Postseason canceled
2020-21	15-10	.600	9-7	.563	5th	NCAA Rd. of 32 (1-1)
2021-22	19-13	.594	9-9	.500	t-5th	NIT 2nd Rd. (1-1) did not coach
Totals	142-88	.617	72-52	.581		5 (8-5/NCAA 6-4)
Georgia
2022-23	16-16	.500	6-12	.333	11th
Career	259-144	.643	128-80	.615		8 (13-8/6-4 NCAA/7-4 NIT)