Texas Hits a Home Run In Hiring of Oregon’s Mike White
Texas has found their man as the Longhorns hired Oregon’s Mike White to be the second Head Coach in program history.
The American- Statesmen is reporting that White will get a five-year deal while The Eugene-Register-Guard is reporting that the deal will make him the second highest paid Head Coach in College Softball. Oklahoma’s Patty Gasso reset the market by signing a contract through 2024 with an annual salary of $925,000 after leading the Sooners to four national championships.
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens and White agreed to a six-year contract worth an average of $237,500 per year in June of 2015 after White interviewed with Arkansas and ground was being broken on the $17.2 million Jane Sanders Stadium project.
White led Oregon to five Women’s College World Series appearances in 9 seasons as the Ducks Head Coach. He posted a 435-111-1 record and never lost in the NCAA tournament’s regional round en route to nine consecutive super regional appearances. The Ducks also earned a No. 1 ranking for the first time in 2014. This past season, behind a program record-tying four All-Americans, Oregon went 53-10 losing to eventual National Champion Florida State on elimination Saturday at the Women’s College World Series.
“It came down to the ability to get some financial security for my family,” White told the Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. “An opportunity like this comes along once in 10, 15, 20 years. I think it’s a good time, it’s a good fit, and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead of me.”
It’s a home run hire for Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte as this job was one of most anticipated in college softball. Connie Clark stepped down back on May 23, and initial rumors pointed to Florida Gators Head Coach Tim Walton as the leading candidate. It was the most prominent rumor and speculation in Oklahoma City even to the point where Walton was asked about it at a press conference following Florida’s season-ending loss to Oklahoma. Walton ended up signing a 10-year extension with the Gators on June 6th.
Many names were rumored in coming days and weeks and many questioned if Del Conte could pull off securing a big name. Del Conte, who came to Texas from TCU, had never had to make a softball hire. Sources that are close to Del Conte tell Fastpitch News that Del Conte reached out to Arizona Wildcats Head Coach Mike Candrea for advice a few weeks ago. Del Conte was the senior associate athletics director for external operations and sports programs at the University of Arizona (2000-06).
Among the people praising the White hire is Connie Clark who tweeted praise on Monday once the news came out.
https://twitter.com/CoachcClark/status/1011363596931125249
Now the College Softball world will focus on Eugene and how the Ducks replace a Head Coach that put them on the national map. Oregon AD Rob Mullens now has to make his second major coaching hire in the last seven months after also losing Football Head Coach Willie Taggart to Florida State back in December.
Could Mullens look towards Lexington where he once worked before arriving at Oregon from 2002-2010 and try to convince Wildcats’s Rachel Lawson to come to Eugene? That will be one of the questions in the coming days and weeks.
