Dave ‘87 and Clare Butler of Rye, New York, have made a gift to the University of Notre Dame to name the Football Auditorium inside Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall, the new operational home of the Fighting Irish football program. Dave played linebacker for the Fighting Irish from 1983-86.
The Dave and Clare Butler Auditorium contains 190 comfortable seats that replicate the premium seating in the lower level of Notre Dame Stadium. This space serves as the primary meeting space for Notre Dame Football. The auditorium is equipped with full video replay capabilities and features cinema-quality video and audio equipment.
Dave is a Senior Partner at The Jordan Company, LP, and Clare is an Interior Decorator at Clare Rooney Butler Interiors. They are the parents of four children: Emma ‘23, Caroline ‘21, Margot and William ‘27.
The Butlers are deeply committed to Notre Dame and its mission to be a force for good in the world. Dave and Clare are founding members of the Friends of Ted & Ned through the Rockne Athletics Fund’s Jesse Harper Council and the Cavanaugh Council, and are also members of the Badin Guild. Dave serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Wall Street Leadership Committee and the For Good Campaign Cabinet. Clare is a member of Hesburgh Women of Impact.
“The Butler Family is proud to be part of the Shields Hall team and appreciates the opportunity to invest in the future of Notre Dame alongside past and future generations of Notre Dame teammates,” Butler said.
The gift to name the Dave and Clare Butler Football Auditorium is the latest example of the family’s long history of supporting the University and its athletics department. The couple has also established the Butler Family Linebacker Grant-in-Aid and the Butler Family Endowment for Excellence for the Harper Cancer Research Institute.