Dave Butler hasn鈥檛 missed a 糖心Vlog传媒 Tigers home football game in more than 47 years.
Ask him why, and you won鈥檛 get much of a reaction. The way he sees it, he鈥檚 not even sure why someone would question it.
鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 my job. It鈥檚 just what I do.鈥�
Butler, 80, has spent well over half his life working for the UofM. He started as a dishwasher in Hayden Hall, working part-time from 1964-69. After a brief departure from the University, he returned in 1972 and hasn鈥檛 left since. He intended to retire in 2013 but was back working in his current part-time role after just a few months.
鈥淔or him to come right back after just a little bit, that was no surprise to me at all,鈥� said Sonya Cooper, Butler鈥檚 daughter. 鈥淎nd I know he鈥檇 miss it if he weren鈥檛 doing it.鈥�
Butler spent 29 years (1972-2001) running the cafeteria inside South Hall, which housed only male athletes during most of that time. If there was anything in athletics that involved food and/or drink during that time, Butler almost certainly had a hand in making it happen.
He spent four years working in Richardson Towers and a year in the Tiger Den before making his way back to focusing on the needs of athletics for the past 13 years.
Through all of these roles, he鈥檚 remained extremely busy during Tiger football games at the Liberty Bowl. He oversees the setup, cleanup and everything in between for beverages within the Pipkin Building pregame and in the more than 40 suites inside the stadium throughout the game. He鈥檚 usually at the Liberty Bowl six hours before kickoff, ready to dedicate at least 12 hours of time to create an ideal experience for those he serves.
For Butler, it鈥檚 not about enjoying the festivities that come with college football games or even being there to celebrate the touchdowns. It鈥檚 about doing whatever he can to make sure everyone else can appreciate those aspects.
鈥淗is service to the University has just been so incredible,鈥� said Bob Winn, executive director of the M Club. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just that loyal, dedicated employee who the people outside of here don鈥檛 see or know on a daily basis. He鈥檚 that guy behind the scenes that makes things work. You just can鈥檛 even measure his contributions.鈥�
For more than 30 years, Butler also handled the setup of hospitality rooms for Tiger basketball games at the Mid-South Coliseum and the Pyramid, in addition to other sports as needed. If a UofM athletics event called for food and beverage setup, Butler was there as long as he could physically make it. He鈥檚 certainly had his share of moments when that wasn鈥檛 easy.
In December 2000, less than a week after the final football game of the season, Butler
had a heart attack. He missed a couple of basketball games, but was back to work at
the Pyramid within three weeks.
A decade later, he had another health scare. This time it was non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Right after working a 15-hour Saturday during the final game of the 2010 football season, Butler discovered he couldn鈥檛 keep his food down. He had an enlarged lymph node blocking part of his digestive tract. Even with surgery and 18 days in the hospital, he continued communicating with his staff, making sure whatever needed to be done on his end was in order. By the next football season, the illness had long been an afterthought that wouldn鈥檛 be slowing him down.
鈥淚t goes back to me not being very good at sitting still,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have anything against it, but my own preference is that I could鈥檝e never have sat behind a desk on a daily basis. I鈥檝e always enjoyed that there are plenty of things for me to do here. And each day I can do them, I鈥檓 going to.鈥�
One of the many great things about Butler is that he鈥檚 as modest as he is reliable. To those who have seen him work without complaints at all times, his efforts haven鈥檛 gone unnoticed.
鈥淗e鈥檚 worked through so many times when he鈥檚 not feeling well,鈥� Winn said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 that unassuming individual who comes to work every day with a smile on his face ready to help however he can. You can go to him with anything at any time and he鈥檒l just add it to his list of duties. And he never makes anything about him. He鈥檚 a giver rather than a taker.鈥�
Butler has a passion for the variety his work at the UofM has brought him over the years.
He鈥檚 fed the football team at 5 a.m. on the Park Avenue Campus during two-a-days. On particularly hot days, he鈥檚 carried ice cream over to that same practice field. In the late 1980s, a win for the football team on Saturday meant the players would get a 鈥渧ictory cake鈥� at practice Monday. Of course, it was Butler who brought that over to the football facility.
鈥淭hings like that just made this job so different and always gave me something new,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淚 had to stay active. As I said, I鈥檝e never been very good at sitting still.鈥�
The truth is, Butler鈥檚 stayed active because he has such a strong desire to help others,
even in his spare time. When he鈥檚 not doing something for Tiger athletics, he鈥檚 likely
working in the garden at Cooper鈥檚 house or on he and his wife Rannie鈥檚 300-acre farm
in Ashland, Miss.
鈥淗e鈥檒l grow two buckets of tomatoes and go find people to give them to,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of work to grow stuff and just give it away, but that鈥檚 just the way that he is. He鈥檒l help you do anything. It鈥檚 beyond being willing, it鈥檚 who he is. He鈥檚 a helper all the way around.鈥�
His helping nature has also long been evident among the employees Butler has managed over the years. It took a team to run the dining halls Butler oversaw in the dorms, just as it does to set up for game days at the Liberty Bowl. Currently, he has a group of 13 helping him keep everything in order at the stadium.
Many of those who have worked under Butler have stayed doing so for several years. Cooper, 52, is a perfect example. She鈥檚 in her 32nd year serving drinks at the Stadium Club inside the Liberty Bowl. It鈥檚 extra work in addition to her longtime day job at Raymond James Morgan Keegan, but she鈥檇 miss it if she ever gave it up. That鈥檚 the kind of environment created working around Butler.
鈥淲hen I was young, I would go to work with him a lot,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淗e was always right there working the cafeteria line. He was never standing around barking orders. He was working the line, cooking and doing whatever else needed to be done. I always saw how that boosted morale for everyone.鈥�
As far as anyone who knows him can remember, Butler鈥檚 never had any issues with those working under him.
鈥淚鈥檝e never heard anyone give a negative comment about Dave Butler,鈥� said Winn, who has been at the UofM since arriving as a student in 1967. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been the manager of a lot of people in his time at the University, but people have always loved him because he鈥檚 never been too good to do anything. Whatever anyone was doing, he would certainly not hesitate to jump in and do it if needed. I think he just offers that can-do leadership that people need.
Butler鈥檚 commitment to the UofM earned him the Murray Armstrong Award in 2011. It鈥檚
an honor presented annually to a Tiger coach, administrator or employee for distinguished
service to the athletic department.
鈥淭hat award meant the world to him,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 look for things like that, and he doesn鈥檛 do anything to stand out in an attempt to get recognized. But that鈥檚 been his world for as long as I can remember, and to be honored for something he cares so much about was very special for him.鈥�
Butler isn鈥檛 exactly sure when he鈥檒l be finished working for good. But whenever that time comes, his presence, though not necessarily obvious to everyone, will certainly be missed. For now, he鈥檚 still more than happy being relied upon however he鈥檚 needed.
鈥淚f athletics needs something in his area of expertise, you know as sure as the sun is going to come up that Dave Butler is there,鈥� Winn said. 鈥淗e has just that deep-seated love of this institution and everyone associated with it.
鈥淎nyone who has ever been to a 糖心Vlog传媒 athletic event and complimented a hospitality room, a suite experience or the Pipkin Building pregame, they鈥檙e complimenting Dave Butler.鈥�