Crystal Wise
TCU’s nationwide search for a successor to former Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati has landed on Mike Buddie, who is trading in his Army uniform for purple.
Mike Buddie
Buddie was formally named as TCU’s ninth athletic director on Wednesday, the school announced in a press release.
Buddie has served as AD at the United States Military Academy at West Point since 2019. He succeeds Donati, who last month was hired as athletic director at South Carolina.
The hire is the second of a key executive in the last month. Previously, Floyd Wormley was hired as provost.
"TCU is building a world class executive team to take us to our next level of excellence in educating future generations of Horned Frogs,” said President Daniel W. Pullin in a statement. “We were looking for an individual who would honor our mission to educate ethical leaders and share our focus on student and community success.”
During his tenure at Army, Buddie is credited with leading the athletics program to unprecedented achievements, including the football team’s earning a College Football Playoff ranking in 2024. 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.
“Amongst a cohort of stellar candidates, we found in Mike a leader who is on point with our strategic plan, who exemplifies the values, character and innovative approach that will continue to elevate athletic excellence as a priority,” Pullin said.
TCU Athletic Directors
Howard Grubbs, 1938—50 | Dutch Meyer, 1950—63 | Abe Martin, 1963—75
Frank Windegger, 1975—97 | Eric Hyman, 1998—2005 | Danny Morrison, 2005—09
Chris Del Conte, 2009—17 | Jeremiah Donati, 2017—24 | Mike Buddie, 2025—
Prior to Army, 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 formerly senior associate athletic director for administration/development at Wake Forest. During his decade there, 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 drafted by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. During his career, Buddie played for the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1998-2002 and was a member of the Yankees' 1998 World Series championship team.
While at Army, Buddie led unprecedented facilities improvements and innovative investments in the Black Knights' programs, highlighted by a $170 million Michie Stadium Preservation Project that 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 to win the league championship in its debut season.
Buddie was instrumental in securing Army West Point's television contract with CBS and extended partnerships with bowl games and Nike.
"I'm honored to join an organization that is committed to its mission and values but doesn't shy away from prioritizing winning,” said Buddie in a statement. “In my 20-year career at Division I universities, I've had a leading role in taking athletics programs to next-level performance. The intercollegiate landscape is transforming quickly, and TCU's brand is leaning into athletics as a distinctive element of its culture.”
Buddie has been prominent on the national level as Chair of the Division I Baseball Committee. He 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.
"For two decades now, I've witnessed the power of our athletics programs help TCU to grow and thrive," Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr., said. "We view athletics as an important part of TCU's overall success, and we have the highest standards for leaders with character and grit. Mike Buddie shares our vision for mission-related excellence and for TCU's unlimited potential as an athletics powerhouse."
Said Kit Moncrief, chair of the Board of Trustees: "Mike has the energy and experience to keep TCU on its incredible path forward. College athletics is a brave new world, and we need leaders who can support students as athletes and entrepreneurs as well as develop pathways for TCU to reach new audiences.”