Butler Bulldogs

Infobox college athletics
name = Butler Bulldogs

university = Butler University
conference = Horizon League | division = Division I
director = Barry Collier
city = Indianapolis
state = Indiana
stateabb = IN
teams = 16
stadium = Butler Bowl
arena = Hinkle Fieldhouse
mascot = Butler Blue II
nickname = Bulldogs
color1 = Blue
color2 = White
hex1 = 00386D
hex2 = FFFFFF
pageurl = http://butlersports.collegesports.com
pagename = www.butlersports.com

The Butler Bulldogs are the teams that represent Butler University in U.S. NCAA Division I athletic competition. Butler is a member of the Horizon League.Butler's basketball arena, Hinkle Fieldhouse, was the largest basketball arena in the US for several decades. It is considered a "Hoosier Hysteria" icon: from its opening in 1928 until 1971, it was the site of the final rounds of the Indiana state high school basketball tournament.

In 1954, Butler hosted the historic final when Milan High School (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central High School (enrollment over 1,600) to win the state title. The state final depicted in the 1986 movie "Hoosiers", loosely based on the "Milan Miracle" story, was shot in Hinkle Fieldhouse. A renovation of the Butler Bowl (football stadium) to be finished soon will include field turf, which will allow the Butler Bowl to host football, soccer, and other events.

Men's Basketball

The Butler program has traditionally been one of the best of the so-called "mid-major" basketball programs over the last decade, having won at least 20 games and reached postseason play eight of the last ten seasons, including five NCAA Tournaments. Butler has been to six NCAA Tournaments since 1997. [http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/4818/buhoops.html] The Bulldogs basketball program's system has been dubbed "The Butler Way", a now-unique style of team play that many have said harkens back to the Indiana glory days, as well as being called "the way the game should be played". [http://dawgnetnews.com/archive/030129/895.html]

The 2006-2007 men's Butler basketball team won the NIT Season Tip-Off, which in part helped them to be named one of the top 12 underdog sports stories of 2006 by ESPN and eventually earn a program-record #5 seed to that year's NCAA Tournament. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2710302] Butler began the season with ten straight wins, their third time in the last six years starting 10-0. [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061207/SPORTS06/612070465]

In 2007 NCAA postseason play, the Bulldogs defeated 12 seed Old Dominion in the opening round, then upset 4 seed Maryland 62-59. In the regional sweet-sixteen game, Butler lost to defending national champions Florida 65-57 in a hard fought game in which there were 10 lead changes and the Bulldogs led by as much as nine points in the first half. Butler relinquished the lead for good with 2:34 left in the game, in a play which might embody everything about the modern, physical game which frustrate fans of smaller, motion-oriented teams like the Bulldogs. In that play, Gator center Al Horford physically backed Butler forward Brandon Crone in toward the post, then hit a bank shot as Crone was whistled for a foul, his 5th. Having fouled out, Crone was forced to watch from the bench as Horford hit his free throw and Florida dominated the final two minutes to secure the victory against their much smaller rival. "We didn't come here just to give them a scare," Mike Green said after the loss "We wanted to win. A loss is a loss. It hurts."

During the 2006-2007 season, Butler junior guard AJ Graves was named a Wooden Award National Player of the Year finalist in men's college basketball, while Head Coach Todd Lickliter was named a finalist for National Coach of the Year. [http://woodenaward.cstv.com/ot/07-m-baskbl-final-ballot.html Wooden Award] [http://www.jimphelanaward.com/2007_finalists.html Jim Phelan Award] Lickliter won the 2006-07 mid-season National Coach of the Year. [http://www.jimphelanaward.com/2006_07_midseason.html]

Basketball history

Butler reached the Sweet Sixteen as a #12 seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament by defeating #5 Mississippi State and #4 Louisville, becoming that year's Cinderella. Butler also defeated Wake Forest, 79-63, in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed, while their heartbreaking 69-68 overtime loss to eventual national runner-up Florida in the 2000 tournament as a #12 seed has seen regular rotation on TV over the years as an ESPN "Classic". Butler's exclusion as a 25-5 team from the 2002 tournament was also considered the biggest NCAA selection "snub" in several years. [http://butlersports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031202aab.html] [http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=lunardi_joe&univLogin02=stateChanged&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fname%3dlunardi_joe%26univLogin02%3dstateChanged] [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2007-02-14-butler-focus_x.htm] Butler's 2001 NCAA Tournament win over ACC member Wake Forest also set a modern tournament record for fewest points scored in a half. Butler held the Deamon Deacons to just 10 first half points. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/boxscores/2001/03/16/wad_bav/]

Of note, in the team's 111 year history, Butler has advanced to the NCAA tournament 8 times.

Conference affiliation

Butler first joined a Division I conference in 1932 when the men's basketball team joined the Missouri Valley Conference. Other sports joined conferences in later years.

Fight Song

"Butler War Song"
We'll sing the Butler war song,
We'll give a fighting cry;
We'll fight the Butler battle--
Bulldogs ever do or die.
And in the glow of the victory firelight,
Hist'ry cannot deny
To add a page or two
For Butler's fighting crew
Beneath the Hoosier sky.

[https://blackboard.butler.edu/@@ae1feaebd266bae4223abd29726f7ecf/courses/1/ES_BUBB_dmccullo_Spring07/content/_366835_1/38%20War%20Song%20-%20BUBB%20copy.mp3 As performed by the Butler Band]

External links

* [http://butlersports.cstv.com/ Official Athletics Site]
* [http://blue.butler.edu/~rrybarcz/bubball/ Fan site]