Georgia Tech Athletics Donor Profile: Whitney Knoll

Thanks to Whitney Knoll, there are several hundred new Georgia Tech fans this season. A longtime Tech supporter, Knoll has exposed a new generation to his beloved Yellow Jackets with the purchase of football tickets for youth groups.

Knoll bought family packs for several games this season, allowing members of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters and five youth football teams to attend games.

"We had two football teams, about 45 kids at the Duke game," he said. "Looking over to that section and seeing them was a thrill. They had a blast, and that was fun to see.

"The best way to get the word out about Georgia Tech is let the kids know about it. I've got three more teams are coming to the UConn game."

Knoll wasn't always a Tech fan. In fact he followed the Texas Longhorns as a youngster growing up in Houston, Texas. When it came time to pick college, he was accepted to Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia. Since he was intent on becoming an engineer, the choice to come to Georgia Tech in 1966 was an easy one.

"Make no mistake, I was immediately converted into a Tech fan," he declared.

Knoll began his collegiate career as a chemical engineering major and had a co-op job at a Texaco refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. However, that path did not suit him, so he switched briefly to Industrial Engineering and then settled on Industrial Management.

"I thought the academics were very challenging," he related. "It probably gave me as good a background as I could ever get. I ended up going to graduate school in Texas, and I just knocked them dead, and it was because of the background."

Knoll was active in student life as a member of the ATO fraternity. He also fondly remembers attending many football and basketball games as a student.

"Football was big-time," he recalled. "I went to every game, and it was a blast. Those were Bobby Dodd's final years as football coach. Kim King's senior year was my freshman year, and we went to the Orange Bowl."

Following his graduation in 1970, Knoll headed back to Texas. He attended graduate school at University of Texas at Austin in the business and community and regional planning program. He then moved back to Houston and began a career in real estate.

"During those years, I lost touch a bit with Georgia Tech," he said. "I would follow Tech athletics, and I'd make it back for homecoming from time to time."

Knoll's decision to move back to Atlanta in 1988 began to renew his deep ties to the school, reconnecting with a number of old classmates when he joined Coldwell Banker Commercial.

He later worked for Ben Carter Associates, and he is now with Trammell Crow Company, one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the nation. Knoll is a principal and Senior Vice President of Investment Services for the company, and he surpassed the $1 billion sales mark last year.

"Timing is everything, and I think now is the time that I need to become more involved with my school, he said. "My school has always been important to me. I know that it gave me a base to go out there and be successful. I'm at a point where I've had some success in business, and now I also have the time to devote to Georgia Tech."

Knoll is Golden Life Member of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, and he recently became a member of the group's board of trustees. He is also actively involved with the College of Management.

"I'm really excited about joining the A-T board," he said. "It's a tremendous honor, and I'm looking forward it.

"We've got a fabulous sports program, which is amazing considering the size of the school. We're at the top in basketball, and we've won four national championships in football. Look at our baseball team--we've got a heck of a program," he continued. "So it's just fun to be involved. I don't live and die by sports anymore like I did as a student, but I really love Georgia Tech, and it's great to go to the games."