Duke announced Wednesday that it is promoting Nina King, a longtime athletic department official, to athletic director to replace the outgoing Kevin White. The university announced in January that White planned to retire this summer after serving in the position since 2008, and his retirement will become official on Sept. 1.

King has also been with Duke since 2008, serving most recently as the senior deputy director of athletics for administration/legal affairs and chief of staff. King came to Duke from Notre Dame, where she worked as the director of rules education under White during his tenure as the Fighting Irish athletic director.

"I am thrilled that Nina will be our Vice President and Director of Athletics," Duke president Vincent Price said. "In her time at Duke, Nina has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, earning the esteem of our coaches, student-athletes, athletics staff and colleagues in athletics departments across the country. Nina is recognized as a committed advocate for inclusive excellence in collegiate athletics, and she has represented Duke on committees of the NCAA, ACC and many other national organizations. I can imagine no better person to carry on Kevin White's exceptional record at Duke."

King served as chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee this past season. The Notre Dame and Tulane law graduate will join Candice Storey Lee at Vanderbilt and Virginia's Carla Williams as the only black female Power Five athletic directors.

"First, I am extremely grateful to President Price for providing me with this incredible opportunity to lead the very best athletics department in the country," King said. "Additionally, I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to Rick Wagoner, Valerie Ashby and the search committee for their belief in me and generous support. I am deeply committed to continuing the strong tradition of academic and athletic excellence at our world-class institution. My priority will be to ensure that the experience is truly elite for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the entire Duke family. This is a tremendous honor, and I look forward to ushering Duke Athletics into the next chapter."