Mike Freeman, who has been a member of the Butler Athletics staff since 2006, has been promoted to Senior Associate Director for External Operations. Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics Barry Collier made the announcement Monday, Dec. 11.
 
"Mike is extremely deserving of this promotion and these added responsibilities," said Collier, who hired Freeman shortly after returning to Butler as Director of Athletics in 2006. "Our revenue and visibility have grown considerably under his leadership. More importantly, Mike is someone grounded in The Butler Way. He cares about the experience of our student-athletes as well as those who support Butler. He is someone who I have leaned on in recent years, and I will continue to do that as he takes a larger role within our senior team."
 
With this promotion, Freeman will now officially serve as second in command for the department. He will focus on strategy and lead the innovation efforts for the department's future.
 
Freeman will continue to lead the department's revenue generation through oversight of ticketing, licensing, TV and Radio, marketing and promotions. He is a member of department's budget team, assists with fund-raising efforts, and has sport oversight. He collaborates on a regular basis across other University units such the President's Office, Alumni Relations and Development, University Marketing and Communications, and the College of Education. He serves as the primary contact with Learfield and Butler Sports Properties since the department began its multi-media rights partnership in 2015.

Freeman has led the External Operations staff to record growth in a number of areas.  Butler set new marks for men's basketball season tickets and corporate partnership revenue each season from 2009-10 through 2013-14. Those numbers, as well as increases to Butler men's basketball regular season average attendance marks climbed into the 7,000s before vaulting to an average of 8,358 during the 2016-17 season, the best mark on record since the 1960s. 

He was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for External Operations in August of 2009 after a successful stint as the Manager of External Operations at Butler University.

Butler Athletics has won eight "Best Of" awards from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) since Freeman's appointment in 2009. Freeman is also involved with men's basketball events, serving as the primary administrator for postseason play and coordinating efforts for regular season tournaments and the Crossroads Classic. 

Freeman has been involved in the fundraising for many of Butler's facility enhancements over the last seven years, most notably the Butler Bowl renovation of 2010 and the $36 million preservation of Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Ind., participates in intercollegiate athletics at the NCAA Division I level. Nineteen of Butler's 20 teams compete in the BIG EAST, while the football program is a member of the Pioneer Football League. The Bulldogs have a long history of athletic success, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Game in 2010 and 2011, and the University is home to one of the nation's great intercollegiate basketball facilities, Hinkle Fieldhouse. For more information about Butler athletics, visit www.ButlerSports.com.