Butler dropped three games at Bulldog Park against Saint Louis this weekend, falling to 13-15 overall and 4-5 in Atlantic 10 play. This was Butler’s first series at home this season due to bad weather earlier in the year.

On Friday, the Billikens (22-10, 8-1) won 6-3. Saturday’s game ended 10-5 in favor of Saint Louis.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs led 5-2 before the Billikens tied it with a three-run eighth inning. In the ninth, they added two more runs. The Bulldogs had a runner on second base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but could not capitalize, losing the finale 7-5.

Senior second baseman Lucas Calderon went 5-for-13 on the weekend. His brother, junior outfielder Marcos, went 4-for-12 with two RBIs.

Butler remains at home today, facing Earlham College at 3 p.m. The Quakers, a Division III school, are 6-18 on the season.

The Bulldogs return to A-10 play when they travel to Dayton for a three-game series with the Flyers (7-19, 2-7).

Coming into this school year, the Butler men’s basketball team likely knew the Atlantic 10 Conference would feature a significant increase in competition from the Horizon League.

This has been confirmed by the appearance of five A-10 teams in this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket.

Some outside of Indianapolis may be wondering how the four A-10 squads that aren’t Butler made it to the Big Dance.

Here’s our breakdown of how those teams managed to secure bids into the tournament.

SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS (27-6, 13-3 A-10) MIDWEST NO. 4 SEED

The Billikens rode an emotional wave, caused by the death of former coach Rick Majerus in December, to an A-10 regular season title, an A-10 tournament championship victory and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Saint Louis started its season 3-3 before winning 24 of its next 27 games—the first of those wins coming the day after Majerus’ death.

The Billikens stampeded through their conference schedule and the A-10 tournament, dispatching Butler three times and VCU twice.

Credit has to be given to interim head coach Jim Crews, who has obviously motivated the men to jump into high gear after a slow start.

The Billikens know how to score when necessary, but they’ve truly thrived on strong defense. The squad was the only team in the A-10 to hold opponents to less than 60 points per game (58.1).

Junior forward Dwayne Evans, with 13.7 points per game, leads a cast of five Billikens who each averages more than nine points per contest. Evans is also the sixth-best rebounder in the A-10, averaging nearly eight per game.

Saint Louis has proven it can frustrate most any opponent by forcing poor shots from outside the paint. This was a key reason Butler didn’t hit the 60-point mark against the Billikens last week.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH RAMS (26-8, 12-4 A-10) SOUTH NO. 5 SEED

VCU turned many heads during the 2011 tournament by advancing to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

The Rams had to win a play-in game to even earn that seed.

This season, it is unlikely the Rams are sneaking up on anyone.

Shaka Smart’s group finished the season with 26 victories against eight losses. Only one of those losses came to a team outside the tournament field (Richmond).

There were two key reasons the Rams were successful prior to the tournament: strong offensive output and the ability to force turnovers.
VCU has four players who average more than 10 points per game. Sophomore guard Treveon Graham leads the charge with 15.5 points per game.

Senior guard Troy Daniels has contributed a league-leading 118 3-point baskets to VCU’s offense.

The squad scores more than 77 points per game. In short, it will be a force to reckon with for tournament opponents on the offensive end.

The Rams also have two players in the top three of the A-10’s steals list. Forcing turnovers is a big reason for VCU’s success on defense and just as big a reason the team earned a No. 5 seed in the tournament.

TEMPLE OWLS (23-9, 11-5 A-10) EAST NO. 9 SEED

One of four teams in Butler’s part of the bracket that the Bulldogs have faced this season, Temple rode a hot finish to a No. 9 seed.

The Owls ripped off seven consecutive victories before falling to Massachusetts in the A-10 tournament.

Wins over then-No. 3 Syracuse, Saint Louis and Villanova, as well as a close loss to Kansas, helped bolster Temple’s tournament résumé.

Senior guard Khalif Wyatt has been tearing opponents apart offensively. He averages just shy of 20 points per game, tops in the A-10.

He sits in the top 15 of four individual statistical categories within the A-10.

Senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson and sophomore forward Anthony Lee will grab a decent number of rebounds per game too.

A key Owl who has stayed out of the spotlight most of the season is senior guard Scootie Randall. But he could be key to any run Temple makes in the tournament.

Randall will be a go-to player for Temple’s offense. He averages 11.8 points per game and the most minutes per contest of all the Owls.

Temple can get scoring from a couple different sources, but they usually need Wyatt and either Hollis-Jefferson or Lee to play well to succeed.

LA SALLE EXPLORERS (21-9, 11-5 A-10) WEST NO. 13* SEED

*La Salle must win a play-in game to earn the seed.

The Explorers snuck into the tournament bracket thanks to some key wins both in and outside A-10 play.

La Salle topped tournament entrants Villanova and Iona, as well as Butler and VCU in back-to-back contests.

A 13-2 home record factored into much of La Salle’s success, but it had just one game on a neutral court this season. The team’s road and neutral court records combined are a not-so-sterling eight wins versus seven losses.

The Explorers have numerous players who can produce a lot of points.

Senior guard Ramon Galloway and junior guard Tyreek Duren both average more than 15 points per game.

This team is capable of pulling out quality wins, but the roster doesn’t have much tournament experience and is capable of being shut down offensively.

In spite of this, an opponent cannot simply defeat La Salle by limiting top scorer Galloway. Butler held Galloway to six points during a regular season game and still lost.

Defensively, La Salle allows 66 points per game. Where the Explorers have really succeeded on defense is the area beyond the arc, as opponents are shooting less than 30 percent from 3-point range.

The Butler Volleyball team (11-8, 1-4) fell to Saint Louis (6-13, 1-4) on Saturday evening three sets to one.

The Bulldogs had to play behind during the entire set except for when they won the first point. Butler was down by as many as six when the score was14-20. The Bulldogs were able to then take five of the next six to bring the score to within two. However, the Billikens were able to close out the set, winning 25-22.

In the second set, the Bulldogs were able to get off to a fast start, and were up 8-3 to force a SLU timeout. The Billikens fought back bring the score to 9-8, but the Bulldogs would not surrender. Butler then took five of the next six to force another SLU timeout.

Butler would maintain a comfortable lead for most of the set. However, SLU had a late-set run, bringing the Bulldog lead to only two. The Bulldogs came out of their timeout on fire, and would take the next two to close out the set, 25-21.

Butler got off to another great start in the third set, up 8-3 at one point. The Billikens would rally, and tie the score up at 11. The middle stages of the set were even, as both teams exchanged leads several times. With the score all tied up at 21, SLU won the next two points to force a Butler timeout.

The Bulldogs were unable to rally, as SLU would take two out of the next three to close out the set 25-22, and lead in 2-1 in sets.

The Bulldgos got off to a slow start in the third set, and were down 1-6. Butler was not able to rally, and lost the set 22-19, and the match three sets to one.

Sharon Clark, head coach of the Bulldogs, said prior to the match that was going to be difficult to beat SLU at home.

“I think that they play very tough at home. Going five [sets] with [Duquesne and George Washington] kind of shows that they have played well at home” said Clark.

Leading the Bulldogs was Maggie Harbison, who had 14 kills. Erica Stahl added six blocks, and Brooke Ruffolo had 24 digs.

Harbison said that the team passed well, but their serving and blocking could have been better

“We missed about 5 or 6 serves in the second set, which cost us the set” said Harbison.

“We didn’t serve as aggressively as we would have probably liked and as a result, we had a lot of service errors” agreed Claire Randich.

Butler had trouble closing out sets during the match. In the first set, Butler was down by two points twice 19-21 and 21-23, but were unable to rally. In the third set, the Bulldogs had a 20-19 lead, but SLU took six of the next eight to win the set 25-22. Randich, who did not practice all week with an injury, said it was a tough match to lose.

“It’s frustrating to see us lose to St. Louis because I thought our team played well all match” said Randich. “I think the difference was that they put away some balls at crucial points, and we didn’t execute as well as we would have liked to.”

“We did struggle closing out the match” said Harbison. “I think that we need to get the ball to our strongest and most consistent hitters at that time.”

The Bulldogs will play SLU again at home in the final regular season game on November 10. “I’m thankful that we have the opportunity to see that team again on our own home court. I know that we will handle things differently next time” said Randich.

The Bulldogs will play at Charlotte on Thursday. Charlotte is coming off a 13-14 overall, 7-8 in-conference record. This year, the 49ers are 8-8 overall, and are 0-4 in-conference.

The new will meet the old this fall as the Butler volleyball team prepares for another season on the court.

The new is the fresh competition the Bulldogs will face in their first season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Collegian file photo

The old are the four starters returning to the team—junior middle blockers Maggie Harbison and Claire Randich and sophomore outside hitters Kelly Kyle and Belle Obert.

Also returning are sophomores Jadyn Yarling and Brooke Ruffolo, who will share time at the libero position.

Coach Sharon Clark said sophomore middle blocker Erica Stahl, a transfer from Cincinnati, is a player to watch this season for the Bulldogs.

Clark also said she expects the team’s captains, senior outside hitter Rachel Barber and junior setter Morgan Peterson, to rise into key leadership positions.

Peterson, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, will fill the role of setter for Butler.

Members of the team and coaching staff said they are excited by the new challenges and opportunities they will face in the A-10.

Players said they are eagerly anticipating traveling to new locations and facing both new teams and previously non-conference opponents within the A-10.

Butler was ranked seventh in the A-10 preseason coaches’ poll following last season’s campaign, which saw the Bulldogs go 16-14 overall and 11-5 in Horizon League play.

Defending A-10 Conference champion Dayton was unanimously selected as this year’s preseason favorite to win the conference. Xavier was picked to finish second.

The Midwest contingent of A-10 teams—specifically Dayton, Xavier and Saint Louis—are teams that players and coaches said they are most excited to play.

“Those [matches] have a little more meaning for us personally as we have played those teams in the past,” Clark said. “Because of their location and membership in the A-10, they are built-in rivalry games for us.”

Despite the new conference, Clark said the team’s expectations are the same as they have always been.

“We have been working hard to be the best team we can be this preseason in order for us to play our best,” Clark said.

Clark said she places an emphasis on focusing on each match individually. The team’s goal to win the conference remains the same despite new competition.

The team has been busy in its preparation for the upcoming season and, with a short turnaround, has wasted no time in scouting its new competition.

Coaches assigned each player an A-10 team to scout and introduce to the rest of the Bulldogs, focusing on everything from style of play and last season’s results to school locations and mascots.

Ruffolo said she feels Butler has an advantage because some A-10 schools have not faced Butler in the past.

“My personal goal for this season is just to wow everyone,” Ruffolo said. “I don’t think teams expect a lot out of us, and we want to prove them wrong.”

The Bulldogs have their first chance to do so this Friday at the DePaul Invitational, with matches against Indiana State, Eastern Illinois and host DePaul.

The team will play its first home match on Sept. 7 against Western Illinois as it hosts the annual Butler Classic.

The Butler men’s soccer team hosted St. Louis in an exhibition match Sunday and came away with a 4-2 victory.

The Bulldogs took an early lead with first-half goals from freshman Zach Steinberger and sophomore newcomer Nico Oliverio.

“We are usually a team that likes coming from behind, so to get that early lead was crucial,” Steinberger said.

Steinberger added another goal in the second half to push Butler to a 3-0 lead.

The Billikens then tallied two quick goals to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one.

Oliverio came through again after the St. Louis goals, scoring his second goal of the game and giving Butler a 4-2 lead.

The Bulldogs will continue their spring season with another exhibition match Friday.

This time, Butler will face Michigan State in Fort Wayne.

The Butler women’s tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss to Saint Louis on Sunday.

Photo by Reid Bruner

The Bulldogs (5-11, 2-1) received victories from sophomore Gabrielle Rubenstein at No. 3 singles and junior Brittany Farmer at No. 4 singles.

The Billikens (9-8) swept the remainder of the singles matches and took two of three doubles matches.

On Saturday, Butler grabbed its second win in Horizon League play this season, defeating Detroit 5-2.

The Bulldogs received wins in the top two and bottom two singles matches. The team also won two of three doubles matches against the Titans (4-9, 1-2).

Senior Cam Thompson and sophomores Caroline Hedrick, Stephanie McLoughlin and Angelina Qin had singles wins for Butler.

The Bulldogs will continue their season Saturday at Wright State.

In recent weeks, reports from ESPN and CBS led many to believe that Butler may switch athletic conferences within the next few years.

Butler could make the transition from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 conference and replace departing Temple.

The Owls of Temple are currently part of the A-10 in all sports except football.

For football, Temple is an associate member of the Mid-American Conference.

Temple is joining the Big East next season for football and all other sports the following year.

According to reports, Butler may likely be the team to fill the spot left by Temple in the A-10.

Butler would bring all of its athletic teams to the A-10 except for football, which is a member of the Pioneer Football League.

The change would go into effect beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.

Other schools that ESPN and CBS consider to be candidates for filling the A-10 vacancy are Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason.

If the crossover is made, Butler would be the second-smallest university in the league.

Butler would have more students than only St. Bonaventure, which has an enrollment of approximately 2,400.

Butler’s athletic programs would compete against schools with more than 20,000 students, such as Charlotte, George Washington University and the Massachusetts.

However, most of the schools in the A-10 have between 6,000 and 15,000 students.

The Butler athletics department declined to comment on conference affiliation or changes, other than Associate Athletic Director Jim McGrath saying that “we are members of the Horizon League.”

The move would likely benefit Butler’s men’s basketball team, which competed in back-to-back NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011.

This season, the A-10 placed four teams in the NCAA tournament—Xavier, St. Bonaventure, Temple and Saint Louis. The Horizon League sent only Detroit to the Big Dance.

The Bulldogs would see an increase in competition and would have a traditional conference rival in Xavier.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke has experience playing in a collegiate athletic conference more prominent than the Horizon League.

Clarke transferred from Arkansas—a member of the Southeastern Conference—last year and sat out this season with a year of eligibility remaining.

“It’s a cool thing being able to play in a power conference,” Clarke said.

The A-10 is not nearly as big as the SEC, but the A-10 tends to draw more attention from major media outlets—specifically ESPN—than the Horizon League.

Clarke said the media exposure he experienced during his time in the SEC was a good experience.

Clarke will graduate from Butler prior to any of Butler’s teams competing in A-10 play, but he said he thinks the men’s basketball team would still measure up in the new conference if they moved.

“I feel like we would compete in the A-10 for sure. No doubt about it,” Clarke said.

Like the men’s basketball team, the other squads would see an increase in competition but not necessarily unfamiliar opponents.

Men’s basketball, women’s soccer, baseball, men’s tennis and women’s tennis all played or will already play at least one A-10 team during this academic school year.

Baseball coach Steve Farley said both Xavier and Dayton, two teams from the A-10 that Butler has faced or will face this season, were in the conference when he took his current job more than 20 years ago.

Farley  also said he would be OK with the new competition, but he is wary of the way the conference is spread out.

“Fifteen-hour bus rides to places like Massachusetts, Rhode Island and upstate New York don’t excite me that much,” Farley said.

Volleyball coach Sharon Clark said she is not familiar with the A-10 but thinks it would be a little tougher from a traveling aspect as well.

As for football, scholarships are available for players in the A-10 but not in the PFL.

Reports indicate that if Butler jumped to the A-10, its football team would remain in the PFL.

Published March 28, 2012

The Horizon League has been in existence since 1979. Likewise, Butler has been a member of the Horizon League since the conference’s inception into NCAA Division I athletics.

As the saying goes, the two go together like peas in a pod.

This may be changing in the near future, however.

Butler could make a jump to the Atlantic 10 conference as a replacement for Temple, according to a report released by ESPN two weeks ago.

Associate athletic director Jim McGrath said that the report is merely speculation at this point and that Butler has not even received a phone call about such a jump from those in charge of the A-10 conference.

McGrath also said he has heard that Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason are possible replacements for Temple in the conference.

Upon hearing this, the question Butler athletes, coaches and fans should not be asking is “Will Butler make the jump?”

Instead, they should be asking why Butler would make such a move.

The recent success of the Butler men’s basketball team would seem to be the most obvious reason to move.

One of the teams the Bulldogs have played in recent seasons is Xavier, a member of the A-10 and a Sweet 16 finalist of this season’s NCAA tournament.

Moving to the A-10 would provide Butler with tougher competition both in and out of conference play. This could give Butler a better chance at the NCAA tournament.

This was despite the fact that Valparaiso finished with a better winning percentage than both Xavier and St. Bonaventure, another A-10 team that cracked the tournament field.

Better competition and a greater chance at making the NCAA tournament field each season would also bring more exposure to the school as a whole.

Butler might also like to join a conference that has some lucrative ties to corporate partners such as Powerade and Geico.

The A-10 primarily features East Coast schools.

However, Xavier, Dayton and Saint Louis are all Midwestern schools within the conference.

Also, the average enrollment between the two conferences is separated by fewer than 600 students.

However, the negatives of a conference jump may outweigh the positives in this case.

The effect of moving to a bigger conference could be troublesome to Butler’s other athletic teams.

Many of Butler’s athletic teams have to battle and claw their way through both non-conference and Horizon League play, and a berth in their respective NCAA tournaments is a great achievement.

The A-10 is not the Big East or Big Ten, but it is not a cakewalk of a conference either.

Butler’s athletic teams would have to make their way past 13 other teams instead of nine to achieve at least a conference championship.

In sports with individual competitions, some Butler athletes could go from being near the top of the Horizon League to the middle of the A-10 pack thanks to better competition.

Situations like this could factor into the loss of potential athletic scholarships, costing current and future Butler students.

The fact that most of the A-10’s teams are on the East Coast also changes the amount of time Butler’s student-athletes would have to spend on the road.

Currently, Butler’s longest in-conference road trip is approximately 350 miles to Youngstown State. Eleven of the 14 teams in the A-10 are further from Butler than that.

Butler has stability in the Horizon League. If something is not broken, it does not need to be fixed.

Butler should not make this move simply for the money, increased recognition and benefit of the men’s basketball team.

If moving to the A-10 benefits Butler and all of its athletic teams, then the school should go for it. Otherwise, Butler should continue its tenure in the Horizon League.