 White was an All-American halfback for the Colorado Buffaloes, where a newspaper columnist gave him the nickname "Whizzer", which to his chagrin followed him throughout his legal and Supreme Court careers.As a senior, White led Colorado to an undefeated 8–0 regular season in 1937, but they lost to favored Rice Institute of Houston 28–14 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day.He was the runner-up (behind Yale quarterback Clint Frank) for the Heisman Trophy, and also played basketball and baseball at CU.