Coach Andrew C. Butler needs no introduction to Pine Bluff or Arkansas as he has been noted by many as one of the greatest track coaches in our state. Not only has he distinguished himself as a great coach, but also as a role model to hundreds of students and friends. Each year in April, he is honored with a track meet held in his name at Pine Bluff High School.
Just who is Andrew Butler? To so many people he has meant so many things. To Rudolph Stennis Jr., a former Pine Bluff High School and UAPB track star, he is a mentor, role model and great track coach. To the late Mrs. Lenora Ward, a long-time co-worker of Coach Butler’s at Southeast and PBHS, he was her adopted big brother and a mentor. To Coach Joe Hart, a former track coach and head football coach at PBHS, he has been his greatest inspiration in both sports.
Coach Hart said: “He is certainly my mentor. Even though he is retired, he continues to inspire me and he attends all of our track and football games.” To the teachers in the Pine Bluff area schools, he has been our voice in the Arkansas Education Association and the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System Board of Trustees. And to the hundreds of students he taught and coached at Cotton Plant, Southeast, and Pine Bluff High School and at UAPB, he was a mentor, role model, and a coach with the ability to motivate, create, and produce successful students and outstanding track stars.
I had the opportunity to work with Coach Butler when I volunteered at the Special Olympics, which he coordinated. To the kids who participated in the Special Olympics track programs, he became their hero. To observe Coach Butler working with these children with special needs, it was evident that he was born to be a track coach. He was constantly motivating, cheering and congratulating each participant in the program.
Coach Butler is truly a lover of sports. Yet his athletes knew he places an emphasis on academic excellence, too. Long before the state set academic standards for athletes, Coach Butler had already established his own standards that his athletes has to meet in order to participate in sports. He was often heard saying, “Son, you must get your lesson, or you will not run track for Coach Butler. Did you hear me?”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Coach Butler was also extremely active in several professional organizations: National Science Teachers Association; National Education Association (Resolutions Committee), Arkansas Education Association; Pine Bluff Education Association (President 1977-78); Arkansas High School Coaches Association; Arkansas Track Coaches Association (President 1976-77, 82-83); Arkansas Health Physical Education and Recreation Association (President 1975-78); Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (President 1973-75, 1981-83). As indicated by the various positions he held within each organization, Coach Butler took his involvement in his own extracurricular activities seriously.
His record as a coach speaks for itself. In 1966, he won a state track championship. In 1973, became the head track coach at Pine Bluff High School where he won AAAA State Championships in 1974, 1975, 1981-1983, 1985-1988, and in 1990.
To me, Coach Butler has been for many years my mentor too. From his sports programs, I also learned how to motivate, create, and produce successful students for many years. A special thanks to this outstanding UAPB Alumnus. We take our hats off to you for a job well done.
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Earlene Stennis is a retired teacher from Watson Chapel High School.