Mike Buddie Reflects on Transformative Experience as Army Athletic Director

Mike Buddie is now the athletic director at TCU, but he says he learned a lot about being an athletic director at Army West Point.

Aug 30, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Army West Point athletic director Mike Buddie participates in an on-field ceremony with soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division during the first half of a game between Army and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at Michie Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Mike Buddie did his first round of interviews in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday since being named the athletic director at TCU on New Year’s Day.

It’s a quick turnaround for the former Army West Point Black Knights athletic director, who spent five years at West Point and was praised by his former bosses as he left to take the job.

He did wide-ranging interviews with several media outlets, including 247Sports.com.

During the Q&A, he was asked about what his goals were for the Horned Frogs, who play in the Big 12 and has seen massive upgrades in facilities and in the profile of their teams the past decade, not the least of which was TCU’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship game during the 2022 season.

During his answer, he talked about his goals, but he also talked about what he learned while serving as an AD for the first time with the Black Knights.

He called Army West Point the “… ultimate mission-driven institution.”

“(West Point was) learning a lot about leadership and learning how to run an athletic department to developing revenue streams and all of those things,” he said. “I wouldn't have been ready to be the AD at TCU eight years ago.”

Before West Point, Buddie was the athletic director at Furman.

He clearly appreciated his time at West Point and said as much in his farewell statement to the institution earlier this week.

“For the past six years, our family has been embraced and immersed in life at USMA,” he said. “Working for the West Point cadet-athletes has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. I am proud of the successes they have achieved, but more importantly how they achieved them.”

Among his successes at West Point was securing the initial funding to begin the Michie Stadium Preservation Project.

The project, which is targeted to be completed in the summer of 2026, is designed to preserve the 100-year-old facility’s tradition and also improve the fan and gameday experience, including the modernization of the stadium’s east side stands, which run alongside the Hudson River.

Abby Howard, who is Army’s deputy athletics director, chief administrative officer and general counsel, will serve as the interim athletic director while West Point conducts a national search for Buddie’s replacement.