Mike Buddie - Director of Intercollegiate Athletics - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Mike Buddie

Title:
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

Mike Buddie was named TCU's ninth Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on Jan. 1, 2025.

Since his arrival to Fort Worth, TCU’s beach volleyball team won its first NCAA National Championship and the women’s basketball team won the Big 12 Championship and reached the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. He then locked up both head coaches, Hector Gutierrez and Mark Campbell, with contract extensions.

Buddie joined TCU from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he served as Director of Athletics for more than five years. During his tenure, he led Army Athletics to new heights. Football earned a College Football Playoff ranking in 2024 as the Black Knights won a program record 12 games, a mark that ties for the most in a season by any service academy in history.

In September 2023, Buddie launched a “Fruits of Victory” strategic plan aimed at delivering a premier cadet-athlete experience to mold them into exceptional leaders and officers in the United States Army. Buddie led major facilities improvements and innovative investments in the Black Knights’ programs, highlighted by a $170 million Michie Stadium Preservation Project which is the most ambitious private gift-funded construction project in the history of the United States Military Academy. He also secured football-only membership in the American Athletic Conference in 2024, as Army went undefeated in winning the league championship in its debut season while also maintaining its fight for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.

Buddie was instrumental in securing Army West Point’s television contract with CBS and extended partnerships with bowl games and Nike. Additionally, he has been prominent on the national level as Chair of the Division I Baseball Committee.

Buddie was able to retain successful head coaches throughout his time at West Point, providing contract extensions to Head Football Coach Jeff Monken as well as coaches in four other sports who received Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.

Prior to his time at Army West Point, Buddie served four years as athletics director at Furman University. He negotiated a multi-year partnership with Nike, produced the department's first balanced budget and spearheaded an effort to bring the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament back to Upstate South Carolina in 2017. He also secured several major financial gifts, including a trio of $1 million endowments in support of the football and volleyball programs. Under Buddie's leadership, the Paladins won 26 Southern Conference Championships.

Buddie was also senior associate athletic director for administration/development at Wake Forest. During his decade in Winston-Salem, N.C., he oversaw a number of different areas while serving as the sport administrator for baseball, women’s soccer and men’s golf. He also worked with the football and men’s basketball programs. He was previously director of Wake Forest’s Varsity Club.

Buddie is a 1993 graduate of Wake Forest with a degree in communications. He was a standout on the mound for the Demon Deacons baseball team. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. During his career, Buddie played for the Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers from 1998 to 2002 and was a member of the Yankees' 1998 World Series championship team.

Buddie and his wife Traci have two children, Zachary and Zoe.