Derrick White named CU President of Basketball Strategy, makes big donation

The Touchdown Club at Folsom Field was full of smiles, laughs and ovations on Wednesday morning.

A press conference was held to announce that former Colorado Buffalo and current Boston Celtics guard Derrick White had been named the school’s President of Basketball Strategy. White, who also made a $2 million donation to the men’s basketball program, was joined by CU head coach Tad Boyle and athletic director Fernando Lovo.

Along with media, several NBA alumni, the current team and a crowd of donors and season-ticket holders were in attendance.

“It was a real honor for me to play at the University of Colorado,” White, born in Parker and playing Division-II hoops at UCCS before his time at CU, said. “So now, for me to get this position, my family and I are super excited. Hopefully, for the guys that are here, we make this a place that you’re proud of, and that you want to come back to and call home as well. This is a special place.”

White only played one season at CU during the 2016-17 season, having to sit out the prior year after transferring. Yet, he posted 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, earning All-Pac-12 First Team, All-Defensive and All-Tournament honors as a senior. The San Antonio Spurs used the No. 29 pick in the 2017 draft to select the 6-foot-4 guard.

While he spent his first four seasons with the Spurs, the Celtics traded for White in 2022, as he helped them reach the 2022 NBA Finals. Even though Boston lost, White and his team completed the job in 2024, winning an NBA championship in the same summer that he won an Olympic gold medal. White has earned three All-Defensive team honors in the last four seasons.

“Through all of that, he never ever forgot where he came from,” Lovo said.

In the second year of a huge four-year extension he signed in 2024, White brings his NBA experience and high notoriety to Boulder.

After the presser, Boyle and Lovo joined White and his “White Noise” podcast co-host Alex Welsh, a former teammate at UCCS, for an episode of the podcast, overlooking Folsom Field.

What is White’s role?

As a current player with more years left to play, many have wondered how White has time to serve a role at CU. And if he can manage both, what does that look like?

Well, in late March 2025, current Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry took the Assistant General Manager role at Davidson, the same day that Washington Wizards guard Trae Young took the same role at Oklahoma. The moves were made to help recruiting in the new age of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the evolved transfer portal.

Since then, players such as Damian Lillard (Weber State) have taken similar positions, including White’s superstar teammate Jayson Tatum, who serves as Duke’s Chief Basketball Officer.

“JT, he has a role at Duke, and so I’ll talk to him a little bit about what he does there,” White said. “I think they’re doing amazing things, but I want ours to be the best and the most special. I don’t want to say I’m going to do more than they are going to do, I don’t really know exactly what they’re doing, but I just think it’s a great opportunity for us to get involved with something that we’re passionate about, and I’m passionate about CU and Colorado. Any chance I could be involved and be resourced and kind of help the school perform better athletically, I was all in for it.”

Of course, while White hopes to be in town as much as possible, he and other active NBA players with front office college roles prioritize their own playing careers. They can’t be in two places at once.

Yet, with their hefty paychecks, they add financial benefit to their former programs, such as White’s $2 million donation. And while Boyle already used White and other of his NBA products as pitching points, both to donors and recruits, the school figured White might as well be officially involved. Many of CU’s current players mentioned modeling their game after the NBA veteran.

“Now, we’ve got an official title on board that is going to really hammer it home,” Boyle said.

While smaller decisions may not worry White, at least while he’s still playing, the bigger ones will need his input, whether he’s dealing with recruits, sponsors, donors or more.

The family aspect

Since Lovo took over as CU’s Director of Athletics at the start of 2026, changes to the school’s athletic programs have been noticeable.

Lovo, only 38, has brought what 63-year-old Boyle describes as a “young energy” amid the new landscape of college athletics. The CU Events Center showcased new tactics to pull fans down the stretch of conference play, and the athletic department is in the midst of plans to double spending for the men’s basketball program.

But in April, when the Celtics played the Orlando Magic and former Buff Tristan da Silva, Lovo took Boyle and current CU assistant Nate Tomlinson to Boston to visit White. While White didn’t play because the Celtics locked up their playoff spot, Lovo noticed how White acted on the bench.

After watching him coach and be a solid teammate, the bunch got dinner and one thing led to another.

“It was somewhere in that conversation; it became something else entirely,” Lovo said, looking back. “We talked about family, we talked about Hannah (White’s wife), we talked about the kids, we talked about his roots, what this place gave him and his desire to give back to this place. And by the end of that night, we looked around at each other, and we knew that it was time. The time was now to do something special, because Derrick is Colorado to the core.”

family 🤞🦬 pic.twitter.com/t43jImmS2c

— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) April 13, 2026

The man to thank, however, is former Buff and White’s roommate from Boulder, Josh Repine. He was the one who set everything up, initially letting Lovo know of White’s desires and also offering a helping hand to White.

“I know that I’ve learned a lot in the NBA, but this is a whole new position, whole new title, whole new everything that I don’t really know that much about,” White said. “So I think my first job is to learn, and I think I’ve surrounded myself with great people. You talk about Josh Repine, and I don’t think this would be as successful as it’s going to be without him. Roommates with him at CU, and still one of my best friends to this day.”

Tomlinson was also described as a “connector” in the meeting.

Naturally, once the move was finalized and announced, a celebration was needed. Along with Wednesday’s presser and podcast, the school held a closed event on Tuesday night for White.

Boyle, seeing the successful faces he’s coached over the last 16 years, tearfully described Tuesday night as “the best event (he’s) ever been to.” He mentioned that the event represents what happens when someone commits to Colorado, which is why it helps having White on board; recruits will take notice, and current players will see what happens when they stick out a full collegiate career at Boulder.

“I want our players, our current players, to understand how special this place is,” Boyle said. “And the only way that can happen is by guys like Derrick and Spencer (Dinwiddie) and KJ (Simpson) and the rest of the former players to come back in and talk to them and show them how special this place is, and what it means to you, and how it can transform your life, because that’s really what we’re doing.

“College athletics is in a different spot now, and it’s different today than it was even three years ago. But we’re going to navigate it, and the way we’re going to do it is, we’re going to keep recruiting great kids from great families that have great character, that want to work hard and want to transform their life and want to get a college education, because that’s something that sometimes is not talked about much anymore. We’re going to continue to do that, and Derrick is going to help us, and so that’s the thing that I’m most excited about.”

Of course, White has a lot to learn. Not everyone knows what everything will exactly look like, especially as he balances the rest of his playing days.

Yet, with expertise, connection and passion behind White’s addition to the program’s front office, there is momentum behind the future of Colorado hoops.