West Point Director Takes the Helm as SUU Athletic Director

Published: August 01, 2015 | Author: Ellen Treanor | Read Time: 2 minutes

Southern Utah University finalized the appointment of Jason Butikofer as athletic director for the Thunderbirds to begin August 17, 2015.

Butikofer, comes highly qualified from Army West Point where he was senior associate athletic director. He was selected following a national search. While at Army West Point, Butikofer forged a relationship with Nike and the University, developing strategic partnerships with vendors while supervising seven Army West Point sports programs.

He stated that he is looking forward to “impacting the lives of our student-athletes” at SUU.

“President Wyatt's vision for achieving excellence across all verticals of this institution, including athletics, is exciting and solidified my strong desire to be a part of Southern Utah and join the T-Bird family” Butikofer said.

President Wyatt said of Butikofer’s appointment, “We are so pleased that a man of Jason’s caliber has chosen to bring his experience and skill set to our organization, we are confident he will continue to make us a dominant force in the Big Sky.”

Butikofer brings industry experience, raising capital in the private equity industry. He served in positions at Arizona State, University of Minnesota, University of Iowa, Luther College and the St. Louis Rams before landing at West Point.

In this position Butikofer will oversee 32 full-time employees and more than 310 student-athletes. His responsibilities will include recruiting, managing and motivating a team of highly-qualified coaches, administrators and staff; overseeing a fiscally-sound program that operates with integrity and full compliance with SUU, Big Sky Conference and Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference, and NCAA regulations.

Butikofer will also be responsible with providing overall vision, leadership and strategic direction for the University’s athletic program. Along with maximizing fundraising successes and coordinating marketing and promotion activities and increasing positive exposure for the University.

Butikofer said, “My focus on a daily basis will be firmly grounded in raising the stature of this department through academic and athletic excellence while at the same time serving our student athletes through engaged leadership and resource generation.”

This appointment will be the fourth time an athletic director at SUU has been hired since becoming a Division I athletic program in 1993. SUU joined the Big Sky Conference in 2010.

Butikofer replaces Ken Beazer in the position and Jenna Ayers will act as interim until his arrival.

Butikofer is from Elgin, Iowa. He earned his bachelor’s at University of Iowa in sport, health leisure and physical studies and is finalizing a master’s of sports leadership at Northeastern University.

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