Named to the USF Athletics senior staff in April of 2022 by Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly, Lee Butler assumed the newly formed role of Senior Associate AD for Student-Athlete Success.
Butler, who had previously served at the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2010 and was in the role of Assistant Commissioner for Men’s Basketball since 2014, assumed three main areas of oversight in USF Athletics, including student-athlete facing programs and services, sport administration for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, and department diversity and inclusion oversight. Several athletic department report to Butler, including Academics, Sports Medicine (including sports psychology and nutrition), Strength and Conditioning and Student-Athlete Enhancement (including the Selmon Mentoring Institute).
“I am very excited to welcome Lee Butler to our USF Athletics family in this newly formed and very important role," Kelly said. “A former men’s basketball player at the University of Miami and a recognized rising leader in college athletics, Lee is a tremendous addition to our strong USF Athletics staff. I have known Lee for more than a decade, have seen his leadership and talent in action at the ACC, and know he will have a tremendous impact on the student-athlete experience and success at USF.”
Prior to coming to USF, Butler joined the ACC office in 2010 and served as an Assistant Commissioner for Men's Basketball since 2014 as well as the Chair of the ACC Racial and Social Justice Committee (CORE). In his assistant commissioner role, he was responsible for promoting relationships among the conference staff and league member institution’s administrators and coaching staffs. He was the primary contact for regular season administration and game management and for game operation items related to the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament while also assisting with game and television scheduling.
As Chair of CORE for the ACC, Butler was responsible for overseeing the internal and external initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion. During Butler’s involvement, CORE established hiring best practices for the conference, created mandatory annual diversity and inclusion training for member schools and the conference office, developed seasonal Unity Weeks that brought awareness and action, and created the ACC Unite Award which recognizes individuals who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice.
Butler worked in the ACC Championships department from 2010-2014 before focusing on men's basketball. He began as the associate director of championships in 2010, was promoted to director of championships in 2011 and again to assistant commissioner for championships in 2013. Butler was responsible for the day-to-day management of 10 Olympic sports including creation of regular season conference schedules, oversight of officiating programs, and resolution of sportsmanship violations. He also oversaw the planning and on-site management of nine Olympic sport championships.
A native of Woodbridge, Va., Butler earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 2006 and a master’s degree in Education with an emphasis on Sport Administration in 2010, both from the University of Miami. He also played on the Hurricanes' men's basketball team, earning ACC Honor Roll twice.
Butler began his professional career with his alma mater, serving as the assistant director of events at Miami from 2007-2010, where he was responsible for the planning, budgeting, and game management of multiple sporting events along with ACC and NCAA Championship events hosted on campus.
Butler completed The Sport Management Institute Executive Program in January 2020 and in October 2020 was featured in The Athletic’s list of 40 Under 40 in college basketball, noting 40 influential people in the sport under the age of 40. Butler is a member of CEFMA (Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association) and MOAA (Minority Opportunities Athletic Association) and obtained a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business in 2021.
Lee and his wife, Veronica, have two young sons, Boss and Blaze.
