Georgetown women’s basketball coach Tasha Butts dead at 41

WASHINGTON — Tasha Butts, the women’s basketball coach at Georgetown University, died Monday after a two-year battle with breast cancer, the school announced. She was 41.

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“I am heartbroken for Tasha’s family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues,” Lee Reed, Georgetown’s director of intercollegiate athletics, said in a statement. “When I met Tasha, I knew she was a winner on the court, and an incredible person whose drive, passion and determination was second to none. She exhibited these qualities both as a leader and in her fight against breast cancer. This is a difficult time for the entire Georgetown community, and we will come together to honor her memory.”

Georgetown hired Butts, a former WNBA player who had coached at Georgia Tech, in April 2023, according to The Washington Post. Butts joined Georgia Tech’s staff as an assistant coach in April 2019 and was promoted to associate head coach two years later, the newspaper reported.

“The news of Tasha’s passing is incredibly sad,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said in a statement. “Tasha was so instrumental to the success of this program. What she did as a member of this coaching staff cannot be undervalued. She was tough -- tough on her kids, tough in her expectations, but yet she was soft underneath when players needed her to be there for them, and she was always there for them.”

Butts announced in late September that she was stepping away from coaching to focus on her health, the Post reported. She was replaced by associate coach Darnell Haney, who will guide the team as interim coach when the Hoyas’ season begins next month.

“Tasha’s passing is a devastating loss,” Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said in a statement. “She was extraordinary -- Tasha was a person of character, determination, vision and kindness. She will be deeply missed by our community and by so many people around the country who have been inspired by her life.

“We offer her family our most sincere condolences.”

While at Georgia Tech in November 2021, Butts announced that she had been diagnosed with advanced-stage metastatic breast cancer, Georgetown said in its news release.

The diagnosis inspired the Tasha Tough campaign, in which Georgia Tech athletes helped bring awareness and raise money to bring quality care to women who are unable to afford it through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, the school said.

Butts was also an assistant at Duquesne and UCLA, She spent eight seasons as an assistant at LSU, The Associated Press reported.

“Tasha was a great player and went on to have a successful career as a coach too,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said in a statement. “More importantly, she had an impact on so many lives throughout her lifetime. We are sad to lose her at such a young age.”

As a college player, Butts starred at Tennessee from 2000 to 2004 under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt. The Lady Vols went 124-17 with Butts in the lineup and helped Tennessee to four SEC regular-season titles and NCAA title game appearances in 2003 and 2004, according to the AP.

Butts, a native of Milledgeville, Georgia, attended Baldwin High School where she was a consensus All-American and the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, Georgetown said in its news release. She remains the school’s all-time leading scorer, and her No. 23 high school jersey was retired in December 2000.