University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Athletics Announces Promotions for Kassi Butcher, Jake Miller
09.26.2023 | General, Athletics News
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Associate Athletic Director for External Operations Aaron Bessey announced today promotions within the Athletic Communications staff.
Kassi Butcher has been promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Communications. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Marketing Department and serving as the point of contact for men's basketball, volleyball, cross country, track & field, baseball, and women's golf.
Butcher joined the athletic department in September 2022 as the Director of Marketing. During her time in the Director of Marketing position, Butcher was instrumental in helping build attendance at basketball games and accompanied the men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament in Sacramento, California. Butcher created and implemented the UNC Asheville student section Instagram page that served as an additional source of communication to students regarding athletic events.
Butcher, a native of Asheville, joined the Bulldogs after spending two-plus years as the Sports Information Director at Point University. While at Point, Butcher was the primary contact for the institution's 19 athletic programs. Within her first year at Point, Butcher updated the department's website to a new platform, and within her second year, she updated the department's live stream and incorporated broadcasting. She served on the senior support team for athletics and was the secondary administrator for seven teams.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to return to athletic communications and work alongside an amazing staff dedicated to promoting and telling the stories of Bulldog Athletics," Butcher said. "Contributing to the student-athletes' holistic experience by providing them with the best media coverage is something that our staff is extremely dedicated to, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside them to elevate our coverage for our athletes."
Jake Miller has been promoted to Director of Athletic Communications. He will serve as the point of contact for women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, swim and dive, men's and women's tennis, women's golf and baseball.
Miller joined the athletic department in November 2022 as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications. Miller was the media contact for the women's tennis team that won the Big South Conference Championship last season. Miller has been an integral part of the athletic department's website redesign, which should be launched by the end of 2024.
Miller joined Asheville's staff after running the Athletics Media Relations office at Division II Coker University for three-plus years in his second stint at the institution, first as the Director of Athletics Media Relations before being promoted to Assistant Director of Athletics in September 2021. During that time, Miller worked extensively with Coker's 24 athletic programs, overseeing all aspects of publicity and promotion, social media, live streaming, special events, and ticketing for Coker's Athletic department. In addition, Miller promoted 13 College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District selections and four Academic All-America® selections.
"I'm very appreciative of Aaron Bessey for the opportunity to move into the Director role," Miller said. "I'm proud of what our Athletic Communications team has been able to do in my short time in Asheville, and I know we'll continue to do great things to promote Bulldog Athletics."
"These promotions for Kassi and Jake are extremely well-deserved and we are very grateful to have them in our Bulldog family," added Associate AD Aaron Bessey. "I look forward to watching them both continue to elevate our brand and tell the stories of our incredible student-athletes."
