Hoyas coach Butts, 41, dies after cancer fight

Georgetown women’s basketball coach Tasha Butts died Monday after a two-year battle with breast cancer, the school’s athletic director said. She was 41.

The coach was diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer in 2021. She stepped away from coaching Georgetown last month. Her diagnosis inspired the Tasha Tough campaign, which has brought awareness and raised money to bring quality care to women who can’t afford it through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

She came to Georgetown from Georgia Tech this past April after a long coaching and professional WNBA career. She joined the Georgia Tech women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2019, and was promoted to associate head coach two years later.

“I am heartbroken for Tasha’s family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed said. “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.”

Heartbroken 💔

We will be strong and stay #TashaTough 💙 🤍 #HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/8PTvAyK0H8

— Georgetown WBB (@GeorgetownWBB) October 23, 2023

Butts replaced James Howard as Georgetown coach in April, saying she was “super excited about this new journey.”

“Tasha’s passing is a devastating loss. She was extraordinary,” Georgetown president John J. DeGioia said. “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.”

A native of Milledgeville, Georgia, Butts played college basketball at Tennessee for Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt. She was part of teams that went 124-17 from 2000 to 2004 and reached the Sweet 16 in all four seasons, including back-to-back appearances in the national championship game her junior and senior seasons.

She had a brief career in the WNBA after getting chosen 20th by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2004 draft. She played for Minnesota, Charlotte and Houston, and she also played internationally before going into coaching as an assistant at Duquesne in 2007. She then spent three years at UCLA , eight years at LSU and then moved to Georgia Tech before being hired as head coach at Georgetown.

“The news of Tasha’s passing is incredibly sad,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said Monday. “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.

“We are incredibly sad this day has come. She battled from the day of her diagnosis. We are proud of her fight to the end. We will forever love Tasha. She will forever be missed.”

When Butts stepped away last month, Georgetown named assistant Darnell Haney as the interim head coach. He said last week that he had been in constant contact with Butts while she was undergoing treatment.

“We kept her up to date with what’s going on with the program,” Haney said. “… [We would] do stuff to make her smile and keep her mind off what was she was going through. We’d send her film from practice.”

Teams across the country would post videos on social media every Tuesday during October to try and lift Butts’ spirits and remind her she wasn’t alone in the fight against cancer.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of Tasha’s passing,” said LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey, who serves on the board of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. “The courage she displayed as she battled cancer should set an example for us all and her spirit should inspire us all to continue in her honor to work towards a cure for breast cancer.”

Butts is survived by her parents, Spencer Sr. and Evelyn, her brother, Spencer Jr. and her nephew, Marquis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.