Jason Butikofer serves as Chief Operating Officer after arriving at UConn during in the summer of 2022. In this role,  Butikofer provides day to day leadership of external relations, inclusive of development, National C Club, ticket operations/sales, marketing, creative/social media, strategic communications, and video services.  In addition, Butikofer provides oversight of human resources, strategic initiatives, and the relationship with Nike, Learfield {corporate sponsorships}, and  Taymar {ticket sales}; in addition to leading all department strategy related to NIL while at the same time providing sport oversight of the men’s basketball program and supervision of the staff responsible for the sport oversight football, women’s basketball, field hockey, women’s hockey & women’s tennis.Â
Butikofer comes to Storrs with 20 years of experience in athletics administration including stints as the director of athletics at Southern Utah (2015-17) and deputy director of athletics at Purdue (2017-20) and Washington (2020-22).
During his time in Seattle, Butikofer had direct oversight of advancement, ticket operations/sales, marketing/creative, strategic communications, health & wellness, medical services and strength & conditioning, as well as the department's relationship with adidas and Huskies Sports Properties - Learfield IMG College. In addition, he served as the sport administrator for football, men’s basketball, gymnastics and men's rowing.Â
He served as the sport administrator for football and men’s basketball at Purdue, while managing all external relations functions for the Boilermakers with focused direction of operational execution for fiscal operations, development, marketing/creative services, strategic communications, ticket operations, ticket sales, business intelligence, corporate sponsorships, licensing/retail, facilities/operations, capital projects, student-athlete development, sports medicine and strength & conditioning.
Prior to his time at Purdue, Butikofer served as Director of Athletics at Southern Utah University from August 2015 to June 2017. While at Southern Utah, he managed 18 programs, more than 100 staff members and over 370 student-athletes.
At Southern Utah, Butikofer oversaw two Big Sky championships - football and men's cross country - both in 2015. In addition, the gymnastics team was ranked No. 18 nationally in 2016, while men's cross country finished 27th. Southern Utah student-athletes excelled in the classroom under Butikofer, boasting a 3.32 cumulative GPA at the conclusion of the spring 2017 semester.
Butikofer led the charge in maximizing fundraising successes at Southern Utah by forming the Thunderbird Athletic Foundation. He and his development team saw a 150% increase in overall revenue from fiscal year 2016 to 2017, reaching an all-time high. In addition to surges in corporate sponsorship revenue and individual donors, his guidance in coordinating marketing and promotion activities also increased ticket sales revenue, with Southern Utah achieving an all-time high in 2016-17. Football attendance swelled from an average of 3,261 in 2014 to 8,255 per game in 2016, an increase of 153% that ranked as the second-highest in the country. He also signed a contract extension with adidas that was the second-largest among FCS schools.
Butikofer moved to Southern Utah from Army West Point, where he was associate athletic director (2011 to 2012) and senior associate athletic director (2012 to 2015). His responsibilities included business analysis, revenue generation, internal operations and supervision of 14 sports. Annual donations increased by 340% and ticket revenue by 40% during his tenure.
Butikofer's other collegiate athletics experience includes stints at Arizona State University (five positions, including director of the Sun Angel Foundation and ticket office, from 2000 to 2007) and the University of Minnesota (director of annual fund and premium seating from 2008 to 2011). Under his guidance, Arizona State saw an 80% increase in funds. Butikofer helped raise $100 million for TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and spearheaded a $2.6 million increase in annual funding.
A native of Elgin, Iowa, Butikofer earned a bachelor’s degree in sport, health, leisure and physical studies from the University of Iowa in 1999. He served as a men's basketball manager under head coach Tom Davis.
