Our Founder
My name is Kevin Butler. I was raised in Oakland, California where crime, drugs and violence are a prevalent part of everyday life. Basketball was my outlet which allowed me to stay focused, driven and goal oriented. Ultimately, basketball helped me to become the person that I am today. Throughout my upbringing several coaches, teachers and mentors helped to keep me on the right track so I didn’t become the devastating statistic that too many of our youth today become. Basketball instilled in me the Discipline, Dedication and Determination to rise up out of my environment. It also has provided me with the opportunity to be able to give back and help others in the community just as I was helped.
I attended Saint Joseph’s Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California. This is the same high school that NBA player and basketball great, Jason Kidd, attended and also the school where I became an all-area player. Not only did the principles instilled in me by my coaches help me on the court, but also academically. It was there I maintained a 3.7 average.
This allowed me to sign a full ride, Division 1 scholarship to play basketball at the University of California Riverside (UCR). At UCR, I was a 4 year starter averaging 10.5 pts per game my senior year. It was in college where I was given the nickname, “Bizness”, by my college coach, Rick Croy. I earned this name because I took care of business on and off the court. I graduated from UCR in 2004 with a Degree in Business Administration.
Basketball didn’t stop for me there. I went on to appear in 2 seasons of the ESPN television, “Show City Slam”. I was also invited and participated in camp with The Harlem Globetrotters, NBDL Austin Torros and played in ABA with San Francisco Pilots. I am still the face of and market the product, “Jumpsoles” in “SLAM” magazine.
It is through my incredible experiences in basketball, the great people I have met and been mentored by and the life lessons learned that have allowed me to be successful both personally and professionally. Currently and for the past several years, I have been running Butler Masonry, a commercial masonry construction company in Dallas, Texas.
My goal is to use sports as a tool to reach down, lift up and inspire youth, to build life skills and help them to become great people through instilling the 3-D’s of Discipline, Dedication, Determination. This is a daily goal that I continue to work on every day. By continuing to live as an example of someone who has beat the odds, I hope to influence others to do that they can do the same.