Exit Interview: Jason Butikofer
Since arriving in West Lafayette in July 2017, Jason Butikofer has been the daily heartbeat of the Purdue athletic department under athletic director Mike Bobinski. Now, the deputy athletics director is leaving to become the chief operating officer for the University of Washington in the Pac-12. His last day at Purdue is this week.
At Purdue, Butikofer managed and coordinated all external relations functions for the athletic department. He also served as the day-to-day administrator for football and men’s basketball. Prior to Purdue, Butikofer was the athletic director at Southern Utah. He also worked in athletic departments at Army, Arizona State and Minnesota. He is a 1999 graduate of Iowa.
GoldandBlack.com visited with Butikofer for an exit interview.
GoldandBlack.com: What do you think was your best accomplishment at Purdue?
Butikofer: On the external side of the house, it was the ability to build momentum, momentum through marketing through social media, through increased attendance at football and basketball. So, I think there's that piece—the external-facing piece. The revenue generation pieces I really believe put this department on firmer ground. You know, we've been able to drive additional revenues through a lot of those other efforts that I mentioned. Our football revenues, I believe, in a couple years are up 109 percent. In basketball, we sold out Mackey Arena for every game this year for the first time since 1998-99. So things like that, you know, not only raise our stature but also raise the relevance nationally, but it also puts money in the coffers to be able to invest additionally where we need to, whether that's football, basketball or beyond.
GoldandBlack.com: What do you wish you could have finished that you're going to be unable to since since you're leaving?
Butikofer: I think the biggest thing on my plate right now is the Ross-Ade project. Once there's an ability to pick that back up, that'll systemically change the complexion of this football program and this athletic department for years to come. It was a really fun opportunity for me to manage the capital project side, and also be very involved in the fundraising strategy with Tim House (senior associate athletics director/assistant vice president for development). There's a lot of energy around it, there's a lot of excitement around it. Again, just the ability to do something that's going to change the complexion of this place for the next 25-30 years, it was fun. It was a lot of fun to be involved in that. That’ll definitely get picked back up and will be a very successful endeavor. It’ll be fun to watch from a distance.
GoldandBlack.com: What were your top three sports moments at Purdue?
Butikofer: Definitely the win over Tennessee last year in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe one of the best basketball games that I've ever been to in my life. The Ohio State win in football was definitely one of the best that I've ever been involved with. I was just really proud of our entire department. We’ve talked a lot before that moment, about being prepared to win—or when we win—as opposed to if we win. And we've talked a lot about that, because I think it's a change in mentality, it’s a change of thought process. And we really hammered that that week and it came to fruition. I think of the back end of that broadcast, the ABC guys even said ‘Hey, it's like these guys prepared for a party.’ And, you know, that was 100 percent true. So that was a defining moment I think for my tenure here, as well as one of my favorite athletic moments. And then I think clinching the Big Ten championship last year up at Northwestern was definitely up there, as well.
To add on beyond those three, probably the most devastating moment—and one of the top two or three most devastating moments in my career—was the loss to Virginia in the emotional roller coaster (in the Elite Eight last year).
GoldandBlack.com: As the sports administrator for football and basketball, what did you learn most about Jeff Brohm’s style?
Butikofer: No-nonsense. I mean, what you see is what you get. I absolutely loved working with him. I love him personally and I love him professionally. He’s a sport administrator’s dream, because he’s very blue-collar. He's a man of his word. It's amazing how great of a fit he is for Purdue. I've thought about that on numerous occasions. I’ve enjoyed working with him. I think he's a very different kind of guy and as it relates to a power five head coach and I've enjoyed every minute of that.
GoldandBlack.com: What about Matt Painter’s style?
Butikofer: Coach Painter is very, very deliberate. He's a thinker. I've never been around a program more where it feels like it's just dialed in and it’s in a rhythm and it's in a groove and it's straight down the fairway. And, obviously, the thought behind the architecture of the program is significant, it's been tested over time. And he stays true to that architecture. He doesn't deviate from it. He believes in his system. And I'm not sure I've ever been around a head coach that is more ingrained in the culture and his vision for what needs to be done on a daily basis than Coach Painter.
GoldandBlack.com: How do you foresee Purdue coming through this crisis?
Butikofer: I think there's some definite financial challenges that we're experiencing right now. I think there will be more financial challenges on the horizon. I think one of the strengths of this department is the loyalty of the John Purdue Club members. And I do take a little bit of solace as we go through these trying times that we have such loyalty among that membership and that donor base. I believe that that partnership will be very critical in the coming months and beyond. Mike (Bobinski) has got a lot on his plate to navigate the financial challenges of what's ahead without trying to sacrifice the quality of the department that we are currently operating.
GoldandBlack.com: What is it about the opportunity at Washington that excited you?
Butikofer: It's a great, new challenge. I think I've covered a ton of ground here in three years, we've had a ton of success in elevating the operation regionally, nationally, driving additional revenues, just increasing the general excitement around Purdue athletics and it's been an amazing ride. And the people associated with it have made it that way. But heading to Seattle for a new challenge, continuing to diversify my professional background, it was an opportunity. I was not trying to leave Purdue. I didn't even have Purdue on my resume. I was happy here, but I was presented with a really unique opportunity and challenge on the West Coast with an athletic director (Jennifer Cohen) that I know very well and trust. And I thought it would be another opportunity for me to just develop professionally and personally.
GoldandBlack.com: And this puts you closer to your goal of being a power five athletic director?
Butikofer: Yes. The more diversification of experience that I can get at this point in my career—the ability to help run another power five athletic department on a day-to-day basis … those opportunities don’t just get presented to you every day. As I look at my future, the journey that I see myself going on, I think this just made a lot of sense at this moment in my life.
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