Tasha Butts, Georgetown Women's Basketball Coach, Dead at 41

Tasha Butts

Tasha Butts, the head coach for the Georgetown women's basketball team, has died. She was just 41.

The DC-area school's athletic director confirmed her death in a statement first shared with The Associated Press (AP), noting that Butts had passed away following a nearly two-year-long battle with breast cancer.

“I am heartbroken for Tasha’s family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues,” said Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed. “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 president John J. DeGioia also called her death "a devastating loss."

"She was extraordinary," DeGioia said in a statement. "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."

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Last month, Butts stepped away from her position at Georgetown to focus on her health, just five months after she joined the team. She came from Georgia Tech to continue her career as a coach, following a stint as a professional WNBA player playing for Minnesota, Charlotte and Houston. Formerly, she was a college basketball star at Tennessee from 2000-04.

She first joined the staff of Georgia Tech in 2019 as an assistant coach, following an eight-year run coaching at LSU. Two years later, in 2021 she was promoted at Georgia Tech and unfortunately, that same year, she made the difficult announcement that she had been diagnosed with advanced-stage metastatic breast cancer.

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

The LSU women's basketball team paid tribute to the former assistant coach, whose tenure extended from 2011 until 2019. “Tasha was a great player and went on to have a successful career as a coach too,” LSU head 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.”

The coach of her alma mater, Kellie Harper, also issued a statement: “Our program is heartbroken to lose a member of our Lady Vol sisterhood much, much too soon. Tasha was the type of person who connected with people everywhere she went. She had such a positive impact not only on our Tennessee family but on women’s basketball as a whole.”

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

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