Tennessee AD Danny White Claps Back Following Concerns of NIL Funding

Danny White shares a comment thread with fans who question what is going wrong.

University of Tennessee's Athletic Director Danny White holds a press conference after baseball coach Tony Vitello is hired by the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 22, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee program has been looking to right their wrongs from a season ago when they were defeated five times following what would be listed as one of the better seasons and recent memories when they attended the college football playoffs for the very first time. Fans are furious and want changes immediately, which will come from the transfer portal.

The Vols currently have two commitments following the first five days, but fans aren't happy with their decision-making. The fans are hopeful that they can land many of the top talented prospects, and the portal; however, they have started to miss out on some of the top names on the board, which has caused fans to question the decision-making of the program and athletic director, Danny White.

This led to a thread that started from a post indicating that it was likely the Vols would land a specific transfer; however, the transfer has been noted to be a cheaper option compared to some of the guys that they were targeting in the first half of the portal period. Here is how the thread went down in the end.

Danny White Claps Back

Tennessee athletics director Danny White addresses the media before formally introducing Josh Elander as Tennessee’s new baseball coach on October 27, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"For all the good he has done @AD_DannyWhite needs to throw some money at the portal and give up on turning Neyland into a night club," one comment stated.

Another fan was quick to reply in the comments.

"100% - we need to go after top tier talent in the portal. Not names to fill a roster spot. Entertainment districts don't win national championships. That is still the goal, right?"

This earned the attention of AD Danny White on his X page where he would crack a joke to the reply made from an initial comment.

"I’ve been thinking that the Neyland Entertainment District could win us a national championship. Man, I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. Thank you for your insight!"

The fan would insist that he would ask for more insight on the situation. He asked how it is being funded, which earned a more serious reply from the AD.

"It is being built, and funded, by private developers. It’s a public-private-partnership, similar to the residence halls we are building. There are no funds associated with this project that could be used, in any way, for NIL. There could however, be NIL opportunities for our athletes once the project is complete and open for business."

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