Chad Butler was named the inaugural head coach of the USC Upstate competitive cheer program in July 2025, bringing more than a decade of experience in building championship-level teams and mentoring athletes at the high school and collegiate levels.
Butler arrives at Upstate after a strong tenure at Limestone University, where he served as head coach and previously as an assistant for two seasons. While at Limestone, he helped guide the Saints to back-to-back National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Cheer Camp bids, earning a Silver Paid Bid in his first year and making history with the program’s first-ever Gold Bid the following season.
During his time at Limestone, the program achieved national prominence, including a Grand Champion title at the Cheer LTD College Championships in Myrtle Beach, scoring a perfect zero-deduction routine to win both the Small Coed Collegiate Division and overall Grand Champion. Under Butler’s guidance, Limestone also posted the highest two-day score in program history at NCA Nationals (92.0375), securing a top-four national finish in the highly competitive Small Coed Division II category.
Before joining Limestone, Butler held coaching roles at Seward County Community College and Young Harris College, where he further developed his leadership and recruiting skills. He is also a former standout collegiate cheerleader at Shorter University, having helped lead the program to four consecutive top-3 finishes at NCA Nationals.
In addition to his collegiate coaching roles, Butler spent seven years as the head speed staff instructor with the National Cheer Association, where he coached thousands of athletes nationwide and choreographed team routines for various programs. He was also responsible for the daily operations of the program, including budget management and personnel oversight.
Butler graduated from Shorter University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Christian Studies. He holds certification from the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) in safety.
