Elon head women’s basketball coach Karen Barefoot announced the addition Ken Butler to her staff as an assistant coach in August 2010. Butler joins Barefoot and the Phoenix after spending the last two seasons at Davidson College.
“We are extremely pleased to add Ken Butler to our women's basketball staff,” Barefoot said. “Ken is a perfect fit for this position. He is known for his strong leadership and coaching skills, his success with recruiting and commitment to the academic success of his student-athletes.”
Butler helped Elon reach new heights in 2010-11, as the Phoenix finished the season with a 20-13 record – the program’s best season at the Division I level and only the fifth team program history to reach the 20-win plateau. The Phoenix’s 11 victories inside Alumni Gym marks the most home wins in a single season in the Division I era, while the team’s postseason appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitational was the first since joining Division I. Elon recorded its 20th win of the season in the WBI after a 103-72 drumming of USC Upstate in the first round. Butler also helped Elon to 12 victories in SoCon play, doubling last year’s total and tying the 2003-04 squad for the most SoCon wins in a season. Under Butler's guidance, the Phoenix went 9-2 in January after reeling off seven-straight wins, including the program’s first ever win over Chattanooga on the road. Elon won eight SoCon games in a row from Dec. 20 to Jan. 22, which set the program record for consecutive league wins since Elon officially became a member of an athletic conference in 1977-78.
At Davidson, Butler was instrumental in developing the post players, including SoCon All-Freshman and North Carolina All-State forward Sophia Aleksandravicius. During his time at Davidson, the Wildcats amassed a 26-33 overall record. He helped Davidson extend its streak of a winning Southern Conference record to seven seasons following an 11-9 mark last season and a 12-8 total during the 2008-09 season.
“I am very happy to be joining the Elon Phoenix family,” said Butler. “It is hard not to be excited with Coach Barefoot's enthusiasm and vision that leads this program. In my two years in the conference I have watched her players’ commitment and growth as the program has improved dramatically and quickly.”
Prior to his stint at Davidson, Butler spent three years as an assistant at Southern Maine. While there, the Huskies were one of the top Division III programs in the nation, amassing a 78-game home winning streak — the third longest in Division III history. The Huskies were national finalists in his first year, compiling a 32-2 overall mark. In 2006-07 and 2007-08, USM advanced to the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 in his second season.
In addition to Southern Maine’s NCAA tournament success, Butler helped maintain the Huskies NCAA record of 28 years with 20 or more wins in a season. Butler primarily handled recruiting for the Huskies.
Before Southern Maine, Butler served as an assistant coach for one year at Providence College. His duties included recruiting, scheduling and communicating the use of facilities, strength training and the academic progress of student-athletes.
Butler has also been a part of coaching staffs at East Carolina (1998-99) and Mount Olive College (1996-98).
A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mount Olive with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management, Butler went on to earn is master’s degree in education and exercise science and sports administration from East Carolina.
Upon earning his master’s degree, Butler was a head coach of Gray New Glouchester High School in Gray, Maine for five years. While there, he led the team to three straight trips to the Western Maine finals, winning back-to-back titles in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Butler is also retired from the United States Air Force after 22 years of service in which he managed the maintenance operations of the US Air Force’s most heavily tasked F-15e flying unit.
Added Butler, “It does not take long around Coach Barefoot and her staff to understand why this program is on its way up. Hard work is the cornerstone but the beauty of Elon is the academics and sense of community. Those things make it an easy decision for recruits to buy into the program.”
