Tom Butters (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Arden Butters was a pitcher
in Major League Baseball
. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
Known as a champion fundraiser, he led the way in updating several facilities that hadn't been touched since they were first erected in the 1930s and 40s. He was known as an administrator who, while serving on the NCAA Basketball Committee, was instrumental in negotiating its $1 billion deal with CBS.
His Duke trademark may have been his insistence on integrity in every facet of the athletics operation. The 1986 men's soccer squad won the school's first ever national championship while the 1991 and 1992 men's basketball teams soon followed with the gold trophy. Duke annually graduated over 95 percent of its student athletes during Butters' regime.
Tom Butters retired from Duke in 1998 after 30 years at the university, the last 20 as the Director of Athletics.
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
Duke University
After baseball, Butters was hired by Duke University in 1967 as Director of Special Events. He was the Blue Devils baseball coach from 1968-70, later founded the Iron Dukes Organization and moved into the Athletic Director's chair in 1977. As AD, he was responsible for hiring Mike Krzyzewski in 1980.Known as a champion fundraiser, he led the way in updating several facilities that hadn't been touched since they were first erected in the 1930s and 40s. He was known as an administrator who, while serving on the NCAA Basketball Committee, was instrumental in negotiating its $1 billion deal with CBS.
His Duke trademark may have been his insistence on integrity in every facet of the athletics operation. The 1986 men's soccer squad won the school's first ever national championship while the 1991 and 1992 men's basketball teams soon followed with the gold trophy. Duke annually graduated over 95 percent of its student athletes during Butters' regime.
Tom Butters retired from Duke in 1998 after 30 years at the university, the last 20 as the Director of Athletics.