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UVA Athletics: Brittney Whiteside named executive associate athletics director

Brittney WhitesideUVA director of athletics Carla Williams has announced the appointment of Brittney Whiteside as executive associate athletics director.

Since 2015, Whiteside has been an athletics administrator at Appalachian State, most recently serving as senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator.

Whiteside will assume her new position at UVA on July 15.

“Brittney Whiteside is a rising star in college athletics and we are very excited to have her join our team,” Williams said. “Her skill set, her work ethic and her desire to help others reach their goals make her a perfect fit for UVA.”

At Virginia, Whiteside will assist Williams with the day-to-day management of the athletics department. She will assist in coordinating and communicating the department’s strategic and long-range planning. Whiteside will also serve as the Cavaliers’ liaison to the University Title IX office, coordinate the athletics department gender equity plan and other Title IX reports and matters including but not limited to proactive educational efforts for department student-athletes, coaches and staff.

Whiteside will oversee the department’s external operations and revenue generation efforts. She will serve as sport administrator for women’s basketball and additional sports as assigned.

“I am grateful to Carla Williams and the search committee for the opportunity to join the University of Virginia family,” Whiteside said. “UVA is a special place with a commitment to academic and athletic excellence and it’s an honor to be a part of it.

“I look forward to working together with our student-athletes, coaches, staff, donors, alumni and the Charlottesville community to carry on the department’s standard of excellence and championship traditions.”

At Appalachian State, Whiteside was a member of the department’s executive leadership team and worked closely with director of athletics Doug Gillin on management of the department’s day-to-day operations. She had oversight of external operations units for marketing, ticketing, licensing and sponsorships, as well the student-athlete support areas of student-athlete leadership and development. She also served as the department’s liaison to the University’s chancellor’s office for athletics.

The sport administrator for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s soccer and men’s and women’s track and field/cross country, Whiteside also helped oversee the Mountaineers’ successful transition to the FBS level of football. The Mountaineers became the first team to win bowl games in the first four consecutive years after making such a transition. They claimed trophies at the 2015 and 2016 Camellia Bowl, 2017 Dollar General Bowl and 2018 New Orleans Bowl and were most recently crowned champions of the 2018 inaugural Sun Belt Championship game.

Prior to overseeing the external units, Whiteside oversaw the student-athlete support areas of sports medicine, strength and conditioning and leadership and development. She created the Mountaineer R.I.S.E program, which is a comprehensive life skills and leadership development program that aims to develop, support and prepare student-athletes for life after athletics.

Whiteside was instrumental in implementing a comprehensive care model for student-athlete health and well-being by hiring the department’s first sports dietitian, mental performance coach and sports psychologist, while transitioning the department to a medical model of care.

Whiteside came to Appalachian State from Missouri, where she served as director of external engagement with a primary focus on overseeing and coordinating all facets of the athletics premium seating program at all of Mizzou’s athletics facilities. She also assisted with the development of community outreach programs and created new customer service initiatives to enhance football and basketball game day experiences.

Prior to her time at Missouri, Whiteside was a special assistant to the athletics director at her alma mater, Wright State. In that role, she worked in a variety of areas across the athletics department, including assisting in all daily internal and external operations, overseeing special projects and fundraising events, assisting with capital projects and analytical research and overseeing and administering student-athlete development and community involvement initiatives. She also designed and oversaw Wright State’s student-athlete advisory committee and CHAMPS/Life Skills program, including facilitating community partners to sponsor the program.

Whiteside was a women’s basketball student-athlete at Wright State from 2003-07. She was a four-time Horizon League all-conference and all-defensive team performer and finished her career ranked second on the Raiders’ all-time scoring list. She was also named a strength and conditioning All-American in 2007 and Wright State’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2006-07.

She went on to play professionally in Germany, spending four years as a point guard for the USC Freiburg, SV Halle Lions and TSV Amicitia basketball clubs before returning to the United States to begin her career in athletics administration.

A dean’s list student throughout her academic career at Wright State, Whiteside graduated with a degree in psychology in 2007. She went on to earn a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from Wright State in 2012.

Whiteside replaces retiring senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator Jane Miller. Miller has worked at UVA for more than 30 years as a coach and athletics administrator.

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