Alex Barr joined the Butler football program as an assistant coach in January of 2022. Barr worked as the Bulldog run-game coordinator and offensive line coach during his first season on campus and was promoted to offensive coordinator before the start of the 2023 campaign. A three-year starter as an offensive lineman at North Carolina State, Barr joined the Butler staff after spending the 2021 campaign with the Wolfpack as a graduate assistant.
In 2023, the Bulldogs had the second-best rushing offense in the Pioneer Football League averaging 202 yards on the ground behind the PFL Offensive Player of the Year Jyran Mitchell. A Third Team All-American, Mitchell ended the 2023 regular season with 1,268 rushing yards, the ninth-most ever at Butler in a single-season. He ranked fifth among all FCS running backs in rushing yards per game and seventh in total rushing yards. BU averaged 28.9 points per game and ranked second in the PFL in total offense (368.4).
The Bulldogs moved the ball well on offense in Barr’s first season with the program. BU averaged 27.2 points per game in a balanced offensive attack with 112 first downs coming on the ground and 101 through the air. Overall, Butler rushed the ball 420 times in 2022, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Bulldog rushers also were accountable for 17 touchdowns.
After graduating from NC State, Barr joined Uremovich at Northern Illinois as an intern in 2016 assisting with running backs. He spent the next two years working as a graduate assistant with the Huskies. In 2017 he worked closely with the defensive line unit and the following year he moved over to the offensive line. NIU won the MAC title in 2018 and played in the Boca Raton Bowl. In 2017, NIU was selected to participate in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Barr returned to his alma mater in 2019 as an offensive graduate assistant. He specialized in working with offensive linemen during his tenure on the staff.
As a player, Barr played in the 2012 Music City Bowl, the 2014 Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl and the 2015 Belk Bowl. He was a three year starter on the offensive line at NC State from 2012-15. Prior to attending NC State, Barr was a first team all-state player at Starr’s Mill High School in Fayetteville, Ga.
Barr earned a degree in history from NC State in 2015 and a master’s in adult and higher education from NIU in 2018. He was also awarded a graduate certificate in sports management (NIU 2018) and youth development and leadership (NC State 2020). Most recently, Barr earned a second master's degree in Youth, Family and Community Sciences from NC State in 2021. He married Christina Hemphill, an NC State graduate.
