TCU Athletics Hires Mike Buddie As The Schools Next Athletic Director

Buddie, who spent the past five seasons as the AD of Army, will be announced for the same role at TCU

Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie introduces the new men's basketball head coach, Kevin Kuwik, during a press conference in the Kimsey Hall's Nowack Auditorium on the campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Army West Point Basketball Head Coach Kevin Kuwik / John Meore/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Nearly a month ago, TCU Horned Frog fans were shocked to hear that the then AD, Jeremiah Donati, would be departing Fort Worth for the same role at South Carolina. The news came at a time when TCU was also transitioning to a new Chancellor, so fans were rightfully worried about who the next hire would be in this crucial time for Horned Frog athletics.

Now, after a deliberate search, fans have their answer. Introducing Mike Buddie as the newest TCU athletic director.

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Oct 26, 2019; West Point, NY, USA; Army West Point athletics director Mike Buddie greets cadets during the first half of a game against the San Jose State Spartans at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Buddie attended Wake Forest College, graduating in 1992. He was then selected by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the MLB draft. After a four-year stint in the league, Buddie returned to Wake Forest to kickstart his athletics administration career.

Notably, at Wake Forest, he was the sports administrator for women's soccer, baseball, and men's golf and an assistant administrator for football and men's basketball.

In 2015, Buddie took the next step in his career and was hired as the athletic director at Furman University. During his tenure there, he made extensive strides in turning around the athletic program, including helping bring the school 26 Southern Conference Championships. Buddie also produced a multi-year partnership with Nike, secured three one-million-dollar endowments for football and volleyball, and had the first balanced budget in the athletic department's history.

Buddie would depart in 2019 for the AD position at Army, where he would continue to excel, producing four Rhodes Scholars, ten conference champions/post-season appearances, and 12 coach of the year awards. As AD, he also helped gain the private funding necessary for the transformational project of Michie Stadium (the Army's home football stadium), the biggest donation-funded project in the school's history.

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What Makes Mike Buddie a Fit For TCU

In the current landscape of college football, the direction of media deals, and needing to be in a top-tier conference to guarantee not being left out of future landscape reshaping, Buddie might be one of the available Athletic Directors TCU could have got to benefit them.

Going into the 2024 football season, Army strayed away from being an "independent" and was accepted as a football-only member in the American Athletic Conference for the upcoming season. They went undefeated and won their conference championship. That wasn't all he accomplished; he led the charge in securing another television contract with CBS and extended partnerships with Nike and different bowl games.

Buddie has a proven track record that shows he knows what it takes to raise money, and he can raise money well, which was seemingly unheard of at an American Military Institute. He knows how to keep his coaches happy and support them, extending Jeff Monken after further developing the football program and four other coaches who earned the prestigious "Coach of the Year" award.

However, he may be most valuable in supporting baseball. Buddie is a member of the Division One Baseball Committee, which selects a team of 64 for the post-season. This committee is different from that of football, as there is speculation that having a member on the committee drastically improves your odds of winning the tournament if you are a "bubble" team.

I believe this was a good hire for TCU and the future. Fundraising and connecting with supporters and donors are big parts of the job, and Buddie seems to be great at it so far. Of course, there will still be questions, like whether he will bring back the Iron Skillet or enhance the fan experience at sporting events, but at the surface level, Frog fans have much to be happy about.

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