Former Gator Amanda Butler Named Charlotte Head Coach
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Former University of Florida women's basketball standout Amanda Butler (1990-94) today was named the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers women's hoops program. She is the first Gator graduate to become a head coach of an NCAA Division I women's team.
Butler served as the 49ers associate head coach for the last two years, after working as an assistant coach at the school for the previous two seasons.
Butler was promoted into her current role following the 2002-03 season, when the 49ers won their first Conference USA title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. She played an integral role on a coaching staff that has led the 49ers to back-to-back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in the program's history. Butler has been heavily involved with recruiting, overseeing classes graduating in even years. In her first season with the 49ers, she helped the team put together the nation's 24th-ranked recruiting class. Three of those players, Pam Brown, Sakellie Daniels and Andrea Davidson, were named to the C-USA all-freshman team.
Butler spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Austin Peay before joining the 49ers. While there, Butler helped the Govs to the NCAA Tournament in 2001, finishing the year 18-13 and winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship. She recruited and coached back-to-back OVC freshmen of the year. She also coached the school's all-time leading scorer, Brooke Armisted, who was the first player drafted by the WNBA in the program's history. In addition to being Austin Peay's primary recruiter, she was responsible for strength and conditioning and working with the guards. She also oversaw the team's camps and booster club.
Prior to joining the Austin Peay staff, Butler coached two seasons at Florida, her alma mater. After graduating in 1995, she joined the coaching staff, where her duties included strength and conditioning, camps, clinics, scheduling, film exchange and coaching perimeter players.
As a player, she finished her career second on the Gators' career assists list, and among the top five in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage. Butler was also recognized for her work in the classroom, where she was a three-time academic All-SEC selection. Florida won 73 games during her career, at the time was the best four-year total in school history. She was captain of the first team in Florida's history to make the NCAA Tournament in 1993.
END OF REPORT
