The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will induct into this year’s Hall of Fame class former men’s and women’s soccer coach Peter Butler and former men’s soccer player and 2000 alumnus Dr. Diego Vacaflores.
The pair will be inducted on Saturday, Sept. 23, during the annual Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association Alumni Awards Dinner and Athletic Hall of Fame Induction, which is part of Alumni and Family Weekend. Advance reservations are required and can be made at www.upb.pitt.edu/afw or by calling the Alumni Engagement Office at 814-362-5091.
Butler is synonymous with soccer in McKean County, starting and coaching programs in the area for more than 40 years. Butler joined Pitt-Bradford’s men’s soccer program as an assistant in 1983 before being promoted to head coach in 1989. He helped the university start its women’s soccer program in 1994 and served as the head coach for both teams until 2004.
While coaching at Pitt-Bradford, Butler also started and coached scholastic programs in the area. He was the first boys’ soccer head coach at Bradford Central Christian High School from 1987-88, Floyd C. Fretz Middle School from 2004-22, and both the boys’ and girls’ teams at Smethport Area Junior-senior High School from 2005-2014.
In 2016, Butler rejoined the Pitt-Bradford men’s soccer program, serving as an assistant until 2022. He is currently the head coach of the Bradford Area High School boys’ soccer team.
To date, Peter has been on the sidelines for 611 collegiate and 324 scholastic soccer games. As a head coach, he amassed 121 collegiate victories and guided players to All-AMCC honors 29 times, two players to AMCC Co-Newcomer of the Year Awards, and was named AMCC Co-Coach of the Year in 2000.
Vacaflores, a longtime Bradford resident, was a member of Pitt-Bradford’s soccer team for three seasons, playing from 1997-99.
He played in 51 total matches, starting in 44 of them. At the time, he set program records in goals at 33, assists at 15 and points at 81. He currently is third in program history for goals and points. In 1998, Vacaflores scored 16 goals, which for 23 seasons stood as the program’s single-season mark.
Vacaflores was a two-time All-AMCC honoree, making the all-conference list in 1998 and 1999. He also was a two-time AMCC Player of the Week, winning the awards in September 1997 and October 1998. He was voted the team’s most valuable player in 1998 and named Pitt-Bradford’s Male Athlete of the Year that same season.
He was not only a success on the soccer pitch, but also excelled in the classroom. He graduated in three years, earning AMCC All-Academic Team honors for all three years. Vacaflores is currently the associate dean of college programs and a professor of economics at Texas State University.