Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White is expected to be named the new Duke AD, two sources confirmed for The News & Observer late Friday night.

Duke has been searching for a replacement for Joe Alleva, who left Duke for the same post at Louisiana State in April.

White, 57, could not be reached for comment.

White has fronted the Notre Dame athletics department since the 2000-01 academic year. One of his marquee accomplishments was successfully negotiating a renewal of the unique television contract that the Irish football team has with NBC. The current deal expires in 2010.

Before taking the post at one of the top private universities in the country, with a deep, storied college football history, White previously held the AD post at Loras College, the University of Maine, Tulane, and Arizona State

White, a native of Amityville, N.Y., will be giving up a large public presence in South Bend, Ind., where he has his own weekly radio show and a pre-game football show during the season.

A father of five, White ran track at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana before completing his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1972.

He earned a master’s in athletics administration from Central Michigan in 1976 and a Ph.D. in education from Southern Illinois in 1983.

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