INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Former Butler football coach and player Ken LaRose is returning to his alma mater for the second time.  LaRose, who previously worked at Butler from 1984 to 1992, has been named Associate Athletic Director for Development and will begin his duties on March 1.

“It's a pleasure to welcome Ken LaRose back to Butler,” said Butler Athletic Director Barry Collier.  “His experience as a Hall of Fame student-athlete and coach, alum and active volunteer prepares him well for this position.  He has a very strong connection to Butler and to Butler's alums and supporters, and he brings 11 years of experience in private sector sales and business development.  His engaging personality, his work ethic and his belief in The Butler Way make him the right fit as we move forward.”

LaRose will lead the efforts of Butler's athletic development office and work closely with Collier on strategy and solicitation of gifts to support the needs of the athletic department.  Butler is currently in a campaign to raise funds for renovations of Hinkle Fieldhouse.  He also will have oversight responsibility for Butler's football program.

For the past four years, LaRose has served as a client liaison/community engagement specialist for Fanning Howey Inc. of Indianapolis.  Prior to that, he spent one year as a consultant, and he worked for six years as a sales representative for Harcourt School Publishers.

“I'm very excited to be returning to Butler,” said LaRose.  “Butler has been a special place in my life, and I'm looking forward to once again being a part of the exciting things that are happening there.”   

LaRose served as Butler's head football coach from 1992-2001, the third-longest tenure of any football coach in Butler history.  He presided over the greatest period of change in Butler football history, leading the Bulldogs from the NCAA Division II and the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference to the NCAA Division I-AA (now NCAA Division I FCS) and the Pioneer Football League.  He guided Butler to its first Pioneer Football League championship in 1994, one season after leading the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in the league.

A Cincinnati, Ohio, native, LaRose was a standout high school football player at Moeller High School.  He went on to become a three-time all-conference offensive lineman at Butler, earning most valuable player and team captain honors as a senior.

LaRose began his coaching career in the fall of 1980 as offensive line coach at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.  He served there for four seasons, helping Roncalli to a pair of state playoff berths including a Class 3A state runner-up finish in 1983.  He joined Butler's coaching staff as an assistant football coach in 1984 and served in that capacity for eight seasons.  During his tenure as an assistant coach, Butler won five conference championships and made two NCAA playoff appearances.

LaRose, who was inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, earned a B.S. degree from Butler in 1980 and received his Master's Degree in Education from Butler in 1988.  He and his wife, Diana, are parents of three children, Gina, Kenny and Anthony.