Boston Celtics guard Derrick White has taken a volunteer role as president of basketball strategy at the University of Colorado, backed by a $2 million donation. The move puts a current NBA champion back into college sports at a time when transfer chaos and el
When the University of Colorado introduced Derrick White as its first president of basketball strategy, the room shifted from ceremony to urgency.
The Boston Celtics guard—now 31 and still focused on his NBA career—returned to Boulder for a volunteer job that Colorado athletic director Fernando Lovo called “transformational” during a news conference on June 24. Lovo said it “changes our trajectory,” adding, “I really believe that.”
White. a Colorado native and a former Buffaloes player. made his own position clear: he doesn’t claim expertise in the college game’s day-to-day turbulence. “The first thing I want to do is learn. ” he said. acknowledging he “doesn’t know too much about college athletics” and the current “turbulent” landscape.
He also signaled concrete support. White said he would give $2 million to the men’s basketball program. “The first thing I want to do is learn. ” he said again. framed as the starting point of a new title. a new title for a new role. something he described as “whole new everything that I don’t really know that much about.”.
The timing matters. Colorado’s men’s program is trying to get back to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 2024. That year was also the moment the Buffs had three NBA draft picks—an era coach Tad Boyle helped create—only to run into the wide-open transfer reality that started in 2024.
Colorado head men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle. who is entering his 17th season in Boulder. didn’t try to dress the environment up as anything other than unstable. At the same news conference on Wednesday. Boyle said: “College athletics is a little messed up right now.” He was moved to tears as he entered his 17th season. even as he talked about why White could help.
Boyle wants White to be a resource for players and coaches. “We want to tap into his background. ” Boyle’s vision centered on what White brings: an NBA champion’s credibility. a local connection. and experience that Boyle believes can help the program navigate an era that has made roster planning feel like a moving target.
White said of his role that he’s “busy,” and still intends to keep his Celtics responsibilities first. But if someone in the program needs him, he wants to be there. “If someone got a question and they want to reach out to me. I want to be a resource to the players. ” White said. “I want to be a resource to the coaching staff.”.
The hire fits into a broader pattern unfolding across college basketball: current NBA players taking advisory roles at their alma maters. sometimes including donations. in a recruiting landscape shaped by unlimited annual player transfers and the constant pressure for programs to come up with more money to pay players.
Colorado’s football team has already used star power in that way. The football program leveraged the fame of coach Deion Sanders after hiring him in December 2022, helping generate buzz and rebuild a dormant brand.
In basketball, the list of similar hires includes several players now working in title-based roles for schools they once attended:
Steph Curry is listed as Davidson’s assistant general manager for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, a role announced in March 2025. The arrangement is described as involving help setting up an eight-figure fund to support the teams.
Trae Young was announced in late March 2025 as assistant general manager for men’s basketball at Oklahoma. He also made a $1 million donation to the program.
Desmond Bane joined TCU on June 22, when the school announced the Orlando Magic guard and former TCU player would serve as the program’s “chief basketball officer,” described as advising the team and serving as a “liaison to the NBA.”
Damian Lillard was named general manager of Weber State’s men’s basketball program last August, taking on an advisor and mentor role for his former college team.
Terance Mann was named Florida State’s assistant general manager in April 2025. The school described his work as supporting “strategic roster management, optimization of talent acquisition and developing future professional basketball players.”
For all of these roles, one question runs underneath the buzz: how involved can an NBA player realistically be when their primary job demands most of the year elsewhere.
There’s also the other tension—expertise. Being a standout pro doesn’t automatically translate into being a strong college basketball decision-maker. At the same time, marketing value can’t be ignored. For programs, there’s a practical appeal: money and visibility can help them break through in a crowded college landscape.
In Colorado’s case, the advantage is partly how Boyle intends to use White. White’s role at Colorado would be “fluid,” Boyle said, with White helping with recruiting and serving as a team resource for learning.
Boyle, however, admitted he still doesn’t think the job has been fully defined. “We have a job title, but I’m not sure we have a job description,” Boyle said.
The hire also lands against a specific backdrop of change inside Colorado’s roster planning. Last season, the Buffs finished 17-16 and lost three of their top four scorers to the transfer portal. Among the departures was freshman leading scorer Isaiah Johnson, who left for Texas.
Colorado’s earlier NBA-draft pipeline—Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson—had been highlighted as high school recruits developed by Boyle, just as the transfer era began to shake up the sport.
For White personally, the move adds a public-facing layer to a resume already loaded with U.S. and NBA milestones. White played at Colorado for one season in 2016-2017. then was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 29th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. In 2024, he won an NBA championship with the Celtics and a gold medal with the U.S. men’s basketball team in the Olympics.
Boyle also brought humor into the moment, joking that White might help with a transition plan for a new coach whenever Boyle departs. But when Boyle was asked what he wants White to do first, his answer pulled the conversation back toward the sport’s biggest legal pressure point.
Boyle said his first request would be to address the recent NCAA legal chaos tied to players trying to extend eligibility through the court system. “The first thing I would say is I want to get a good lawyer. a local judge and get a temporary restraining order to get an extra year of eligibility for Derrick. ” Boyle said. “That’s what I would like to do first.”.
The line landed like a joke, but it also captured the reality Boyle sees: in today’s college basketball, guidance isn’t just about recruiting anymore—it’s about surviving volatility.
Derrick White Colorado Buffaloes Tad Boyle NCAA tournament college basketball recruiting transfer portal Boston Celtics basketball strategy president Fernando Lovo Isaiah Johnson NBA player advisory roles