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University of Massachusets Athletics
Team Behind the Team: Amanda Ekabutr
October 13, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Ekabutr serves Massachusetts Athletics as director of student-athlete development
Team Behind the Team is presented by UMassFive
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts women's basketball continues its Q&A series, Team Behind the Team, as the program will feature several key members of the support staff and their roles with the Minutewomen.
Next in the series is Amanda Ekabutr, who serves Massachusetts Athletics as the department's director of student-athlete development. Ekabutr also holds the role of diversity and inclusion officer.
Name: Amanda Ekabutr
Position: Director of Student-Athlete Development/Diversity and Inclusion Officer
At UMass Since: July 2019
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona
What does a normal day look like for you around UMass and with the women's basketball program?
"Typically I start the day by getting messaging out to our coaches and student-athletes about things happening on our campus, along with programming for personal and professional development. A lot of our Summer programming focused on financial literacy, mental health and other motivational workshops. I'll have several meetings with student-athletes during the day, both individually and the groups I oversee, such as Minority Student-Athletes United, Peak Performance, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and UMass ISA, our international student-athlete group. There's a lot of moving pieces for sure. But we're focused on building programs that will holistically develop our student-athletes personally, professionally and leadership-wise. We want to give them tangible tools to succeed in life after college athletics."
How critical is this type of programming to developing the complete student-athlete and setting them up for success in life?
"I relate very much with Cus D'Amato, the late trainer for Mike Tyson. Something D'Amato said was that he doesn't create–he discovers and uncovers. That's what I do in my role, letting student-athletes know that they have so many skills within themselves. They might not know it at that moment, but once they discover it and uncover it within themselves, they're able to apply it in the real world. That's at the core of the programming we focus on, figuring out who you are outside of your athletic identity and applying that outside of sport. The skills you learn in sport are definitely transferrable to the real world and the workforce."
What are some things you've worked on with the women's basketball program?
"One example of programming for our women's basketball student-athletes was a panel discussion on playing professionally and transitioning to life after basketball. We wanted to show that playing professionally as a women's basketball player is a reality and something to strive for. It's something our student-athletes can strive for, so we wanted to connect them with professional basketball players to talk about their experience. It was great life advice and professional advice and it was really important for us to create that discussion space for our student-athletes.
"Our women's basketball coaching staff is amazing. They really do care about the development of the student-athletes on the court, in the classroom and beyond graduation. They've helped me figure out what types of programming are helpful for the group. The student-athletes are great, very responsive, very respectful, it's a group of characters for sure."
Why UMass? What do you enjoy about being here and around the Pioneer Valley?
"I love the family environment. It's very family-oriented when it comes to speaking with coaches, student-athletes and staff. You really have that family bond and that communication where everyone is willing and able to lend a hand or be there for you. That was something that really drew me to Western Massachusetts. I've had a great support system here and enjoy everyone that I work with. With women's basketball, the coaches and student-athletes are amazing."
What's something the average person might not know about you?
"I love boxing. I actually had one competitive fight on my bucket list. I was able to get that done and thankfully I won. It was a 10-hour drive to California for the fight and thank goodness I won, because I did not want to drive that far just to lose. Nothing's wrong with losing! But it's always a better feeling when you win."
Follow UMass women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@UMassWBB) for the latest news and updates around the team.
Previous "Team Behind the Team" Profiles
September 29 – Senior Assistant Director/Academic Success Elizabeth Smith Hamlet
September 15 – Director of Sport Psychology Dr. Nicole Gabana
August 26 – Administrative Assistant Katie Lenois
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts women's basketball continues its Q&A series, Team Behind the Team, as the program will feature several key members of the support staff and their roles with the Minutewomen.
Next in the series is Amanda Ekabutr, who serves Massachusetts Athletics as the department's director of student-athlete development. Ekabutr also holds the role of diversity and inclusion officer.
Name: Amanda Ekabutr
Position: Director of Student-Athlete Development/Diversity and Inclusion Officer
At UMass Since: July 2019
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona
What does a normal day look like for you around UMass and with the women's basketball program?
"Typically I start the day by getting messaging out to our coaches and student-athletes about things happening on our campus, along with programming for personal and professional development. A lot of our Summer programming focused on financial literacy, mental health and other motivational workshops. I'll have several meetings with student-athletes during the day, both individually and the groups I oversee, such as Minority Student-Athletes United, Peak Performance, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and UMass ISA, our international student-athlete group. There's a lot of moving pieces for sure. But we're focused on building programs that will holistically develop our student-athletes personally, professionally and leadership-wise. We want to give them tangible tools to succeed in life after college athletics."
How critical is this type of programming to developing the complete student-athlete and setting them up for success in life?
"I relate very much with Cus D'Amato, the late trainer for Mike Tyson. Something D'Amato said was that he doesn't create–he discovers and uncovers. That's what I do in my role, letting student-athletes know that they have so many skills within themselves. They might not know it at that moment, but once they discover it and uncover it within themselves, they're able to apply it in the real world. That's at the core of the programming we focus on, figuring out who you are outside of your athletic identity and applying that outside of sport. The skills you learn in sport are definitely transferrable to the real world and the workforce."
What are some things you've worked on with the women's basketball program?
"One example of programming for our women's basketball student-athletes was a panel discussion on playing professionally and transitioning to life after basketball. We wanted to show that playing professionally as a women's basketball player is a reality and something to strive for. It's something our student-athletes can strive for, so we wanted to connect them with professional basketball players to talk about their experience. It was great life advice and professional advice and it was really important for us to create that discussion space for our student-athletes.
"Our women's basketball coaching staff is amazing. They really do care about the development of the student-athletes on the court, in the classroom and beyond graduation. They've helped me figure out what types of programming are helpful for the group. The student-athletes are great, very responsive, very respectful, it's a group of characters for sure."
Why UMass? What do you enjoy about being here and around the Pioneer Valley?
"I love the family environment. It's very family-oriented when it comes to speaking with coaches, student-athletes and staff. You really have that family bond and that communication where everyone is willing and able to lend a hand or be there for you. That was something that really drew me to Western Massachusetts. I've had a great support system here and enjoy everyone that I work with. With women's basketball, the coaches and student-athletes are amazing."
What's something the average person might not know about you?
"I love boxing. I actually had one competitive fight on my bucket list. I was able to get that done and thankfully I won. It was a 10-hour drive to California for the fight and thank goodness I won, because I did not want to drive that far just to lose. Nothing's wrong with losing! But it's always a better feeling when you win."
Follow UMass women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@UMassWBB) for the latest news and updates around the team.
Previous "Team Behind the Team" Profiles
September 29 – Senior Assistant Director/Academic Success Elizabeth Smith Hamlet
September 15 – Director of Sport Psychology Dr. Nicole Gabana
August 26 – Administrative Assistant Katie Lenois
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