Former Furman University and Presbyterian College head coach Butch Estes was hired as Guilford's 13^th men's basketball boss in May 1999. He succeeds Jack Jensen, who retired in March 1999 after 386 victories and 29 seasons on the Guilford sidelines, including the 1972-73 NAIA National Championship campaign.

A 1971 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Estes compiled a 227-185 coaching record in 14 seasons at Furman and Presbyterian. He guided Division I Furman to a 135-122 over nine years and graduated 26 of his 27 players who completed their eligibility. The Paladins 1990-91 unit logged a 20-9 record and reached the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the only time in the program's 86-season history. The High Point, NC, native resigned from Furman and returned to coaching in 1998 as the head boys' basketball coach at St. Joseph's High School in Greenville, SC. He has also worked as a commentator for the Fox Sports South television network.

A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Estes ranks third among Furman's men's basketball coaches in career victories. He took over a team, which managed seven wins in 1984-85, and steadily rebuilt the Paladins program with solid recruiting. After a 10-17 record in his first season, Estes collected his first coach of the year prize in 1987 by guiding Furman to a 17-12 mark, the program's first winning season since 1980. The Paladins recorded back-to-back second-place finishes in the Southern Conference over the next two seasons and the 1988-89 campaign featured the first of three Estes-coached league freshmen of the year in Bruce Evans.

Furman's 1989-90 unit featured the youngest starting lineup in the Southern Conference and forged a 15-16 record over a schedule that featured five NCAA Tournament participants. The following season, Estes captured his second Southern Conference Coach of the Year honor after helping the Paladins to their first 20-win campaign and conference title since 1980. Furman recorded its first perfect home record (13-0) in 16 years that season, including a home triumph over 10th-ranked East Tennessee State. The Paladins' 1990-91 performance earned Estes his second South Carolina Coach of the Year accolade, as selected by the Greenville Tipoff Club.

Estes picked up his first state Coach of the Year prize after his third of five seasons at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. He backed up the award with two more 20-win seasons, including the 1984-85 campaign that saw Presbyterian post a school-record 25 victories and earn a number-13 national ranking. In his final season at Presbyterian, Estes took the Blue Hose to a 24-8 mark and reached the finals of the NAIA District 6 Tournament.

Following a successful playing career at High Point Central High School, Estes enrolled at UNC Chapel Hill where he played one season of freshman basketball. He remained in Coach Dean Smith's program as a student assistant to Bill Guthridge in the Tar Heels' junior varsity team for his remaining college years. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and moved on to The Citadel where he worked alongside Les Robinson as a graduate assistant coach. Robinson later took over as head coach at The Citadel before moving on to East Tennessee State and eventually to North Carolina State where he presently serves as athletic director.