John Dedman returned to the Butler Athletics staff as Associate Athletic Director for Communications in June of 2015.
Dedman serves as a member of Vice President/Athletic Director Grant Leiendecker's senior leadership team and is the sport supervisor for Butler's women's soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis programs.
As the Associate Athletic Director, Dedman oversees communications strategies for the department. He serves as the contact for Butler's men's basketball and golf programs. Dedman also plays a lead role in Butler's social media and digital media initiatives. Between his two stints at Butler, Dedman has served as the primary communications contact for 18 of the department's 20 sports at various times.
Dedman rejoined the Bulldogs after serving on the senior leadership group at Indiana Sports Corp, the nation’s first and leading sports commission. In his position as Vice President of Communications, Dedman led public relations and marketing efforts for the organization, served as a spokesperson and facilitated all media requests. He assisted in the creation of the Sports Corp’s Strategic Plan and managed the organization’s branding, external communication plans, creative collateral, advertising buys, social media, e-marketing initiatives, and www.IndianaSportsCorp.org.
While at Indiana Sports Corp, Dedman had a lead role in some of the nation’s largest sporting events, including Super Bowl XLVI. He was a member of the Bid Team that brought the event to Indianapolis, and he managed communication efforts for the Super Bowl Village, the outdoor fan festival that brought more than 1.1 million people to the downtown area of the city over the ten days leading up to the Super Bowl. He further assisted with the planning of on-site media operations for the event.
In addition to the Super Bowl, Dedman was actively involved in marketing, media operations and communications for the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2010 and 2015, the 2011 NCAA Women’s Final Four, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional in 2009, 2013 and 2014, the Big Ten Football Championship Game (2011-14), Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments (2008-12, 2014), the U. S. Olympic Diving Trials (2008, 2016), the USA Track and Field Outdoor National Championships (2006, 2007), the USA Gymnastics National Championships (2015) and additional NCAA championship events in lacrosse, swimming and diving and rowing.
A 2003 Butler graduate, Dedman began his professional career at his alma mater. He served as assistant sports information director at Butler from 2003 to 2006, handling media relations/communications for nine of Butler's teams. He replaced his former boss, Jim McGrath, who retired after 34 years on the Butler staff.
Dedman graduated Magna Cum Laude from Butler with a degree in Public and Corporate Communication. As an undergraduate, Dedman was named one of Butler’s “Top Ten Outstanding Male Students,” and he received Butler’s “Garlick Award” for sports journalism.
He and his wife, Mary Beth, have a daughter, Brynn.
