Butler softball players will have to take their finals earlier than most on campus.

The team will be on the East Coast for games against Massachusetts and Rhode Island the week Butler has finals.

How much class time an athlete misses depends on each player’s classes and the team’s schedule,  coach Scott Hall said.

In past years, the players were not always gone for their finals, but the switch in athletic conferences from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 Conference affected that this year.

“(In) the Horizon League, we were always able to not schedule during finals week,” Hall said. That’d be our bye week. You know, with the A-10, with more teams and the travel and stuff, we were not able to do that.

“It’s something teams all over the country have to deal with, and we are no different, but I’m sure we will be fine.”

Sonya Hopkins, athletic coordinator of academic support, works with both professors and players to make sure students stay on course academically.

“Sonya Hopkins does a great job of coordinating with professors and players, whether it is rescheduling finals, making up tests or setting up tutors for the whole athletic department,” Hall said.

Senior infielder Meaghan Sullivan said players try to set things up as soon as possible to let professors know when they will be gone ahead of time, so they know they won’t be penalized or fall behind.

Sullivan said taking her finals early is nothing new because she has already had to take other tests early.

“It goes along with being a student-athlete,” Sullivan said. “You have to be able to deal with the academic side of things too. It’s a major part of being an athlete at Butler.”

Senior infielder Devin Dearing will be in town for her finals because she is a physician assistant major.

Her finals can be taken during the last week of April.

Most of her teammates will also be taking them that same week due to rescheduling.

“I think it is a positive,” Dearing said. “It gives us time to get (finals)done with so that when we are on the road, we can just think about softball, especially heading into the conference tournament.”

Unlike baseball and softball teams down south, Butler’s squads do not have the luxury of being outside year-round.

Instead, they are confined to the Butler Bubble for the majority of the offseason and the beginning of their regular seasons.

“I like to compare it to coach Stevens having to practice on a golf course and then going to play his first basketball game,” softball coach Scott Hall said. “There is only so much we can do.”

To compensate for the weather constrictions, the teams head south every year.

Traveling allows the teams to face a variety of opponents, though the venture is not without its drawbacks.

With each trip comes expenses for the teams: hotels, food and the occasional load of laundry.

Another inevitable problem with offseason travel is the strain it puts on the athletes to keep up with their schoolwork.

Senior outfielder Jack Dillon, who started 29 games last season, said he has to make personal adjustments to accommodate for the travel season.

“It’s hard to maintain what I do in the offseason in terms of grades,” Dillon said. “I’ve learned to manage my time wisely and be more productive when I do have the time to sit down and work on academics.”

This effort does not go unnoticed by coaches.

Baseball coach Steve Farley said he admires his team’s determination in the offseason.

“I think our guys work even harder on their academics during the spring semester because they know they will be missing some classes due to travel,” Farley said.

Despite the drawbacks of traveling down south, the advantages for both teams make them worthwhile in preparing for their upcoming seasons.

In addition to playing outside, another positive about traveling south is facing some of the better teams in the country.

“While I’ve coached at Butler, we’ve played Top 10 teams like South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Alabama, North Carolina, Fresno State,” Farley said, “and now this year, the defending national champs, University of Arizona.”

This gives each athlete on the Butler teams a great experience the programs hope will translate into success during conference play.

“I can’t see anything bad with touring the southern portion of our country,” Dillon said.

The players certainly enjoy the experience of playing great teams, and the coaches said they don’t mind escaping into nice, warm weather down south.

The softball team started its season playing Eastern Michigan at Georgia Tech last Friday while the baseball team will start its season Friday at Georgia State.

The Butler softball team is gearing up for its 2013 spring campaign without seven players from last year’s team.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished with an overall record of 25-32 and 13-11 in the Horizon League.

Butler graduated six seniors from last year’s team, and Kayla Gray will forgo her final year of eligibility due to injury.

Gray started 52 of the 57 games last year and played in 142 games in her Butler career.

Butler produced 207 runs with a .331 on base percentage and 28 home runs in just 57 games last season.

Coach Scott Hall is in his third year at Butler. The Bulldogs will be hitting the Atlantic 10 for their inaugural season.

“I’m excited for the change,” Hall said. “Butler is a better fit for the A-10.”

Before Butler battles anyone, they must compete amongst themselves first. With players graduating, the possibility of playing time has opened up.

“We have always had to compete, but it’s a little more intense this year,” junior Callie Dennison said. “In the end, it doesn’t matter who’s on the field because we are a team first.”

The young Butler team will have nine freshman  and six sophomores of its 23 players on the roster.

“I think having so much youth this year could be seen as a challenge, but everybody is willing to put in the extra work in order to make themselves and the team better,” freshman infielder Krosley Ogden said. “We have a lot of great athletes, and I don’t see age having anything to do with that.”

Ogden said the team has many goals for itself, including to compete in its new conference.

“Just like all the other athletic programs at Butler,” Ogden said, “we really want to compete in our new conference and ultimately win the tournament.”

Softball is typically a spring sport, but the Butler softball team is more than halfway through its fall season.

Butler’s official season is still in the spring, but the team is using a short, eight-game fall season to take stock of the newcomers and figure out individuals’ technique and skill levels.

“We’re looking to gauge where everyone is,” coach Scott Hall said. “We’re obviously out here trying to win, but our ultimate goal is in the spring, and this is going to help us get there and tell us where our focus needs to be.”

The team lost six seniors to graduation, and fifth-year senior Kayla Gray decided to forgo her last year of eligibility due to injury.

Hall had 10 freshman join the team and will be holding open tryouts to fill the required 25-person roster.

Sophomore infielder Kristen Boros, who was named to the 2012 Horizon League All-Newcomer team, said the biggest difference between this season and last is having to go back to basics.

“With so many upperclassmen before, we just went out and played,” Boros said. “Now coach Hall has to break it down a little more.”

Hall agrees and said that he feels like he has to do a little bit more coaching now.

“We have to introduce the new kids to how we break down hitting and how we do defensive sets,” Hall said. “But it’s neat watching our older ones become leaders and teach just as much as I am.”

Even the returning players are fighting for spots, learning to balance the competition between each other and still trying to gel as a team.

“We have always had to compete, but it’s a little more intense this year,” junior Callie Dennison said. “In the end it doesn’t really matter who’s on the field because we are a team first.”

Dennison primarily played in the infield last season, but in six fall games, she has manned a spot in the outfield.

“Nothing’s guaranteed,” Dennison said. “I still have to earn it and be ready to play anywhere.”

In addition to competing for spots, the team is trying to find its identity.

Boros said the team is typically a very funny, laid-back group and expects that to continue this year.

“We have some serious ones, but we all just have so much fun,” Boros said. “Someone will tell a story, and we’ll keep laughing forever.”

Freshman Alex Kotter is still trying to figure out different aspects of the team and get to know everyone but said she can already pick out different personalities.

“Meaghan Sullivan is definitely a serious one—she expects perfection—but then we have Jenny and Callie who kind of lighten the mood at times too,” Kotter said. “But sometimes I don’t know whether coach is being serious or kidding around with me. Meaghan has had to tell me a few times, ‘Alex, he’s joking,’ and then I laugh.”

The team has a 4-1-1 record through the fall with two games remaining.

Butler University’s move to the Atlantic 10 Conference brought praise from  coaches of several different athletic teams on campus.

Men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens said the move to the A-10 was no surprise and that the conference is one of the best basketball conferences in the county.

“It is one heck of a basketball league, and [it will be] strong this year,” Stevens said.

Stevens also said that this move provides his team a better chance of entering the NCAA tournament. Last year, the A-10 sent four teams to the NCAA tournament, whereas the Horizon League sent only one.

While there may be greater opportunities in basketball, softball saw no change in its quest for a championship.

The softball team must win the A-10 tournament in order to advance to the NCAA championship tournament, just as it was required to do in the Horizon League.

Despite this challenge, coach Scott Hall called the move a great opportunity and said he is excited for different challenges.

Hall, who enters his third year as Butler’s coach, said though he was just getting adjusted to Horizon League play, he is glad the move was made.

“I’m excited for the change,” Hall said. “Butler is a better fit for the A-10.”

As a spring sport, softball has more time to prepare for its new opposition. Hall said his upperclassmen are excited for the change in competition and scenery.

Men’s soccer coach Paul Snape also had a positive reaction to the move.

“We can really establish ourselves (in the A-10),” Snape said.

Butler’s change in conference entry date was altered over the summer, and, as a result, soccer and other fall sports have had little time to prepare for their new opponents.

Snape said his team moved on because there was nothing they could do.

Snape said the team was lucky that it did not have to change its packed and competitive schedule despite the quick move.

Stevens, Hall and Snape all said that this move will be great for the university within and outside athletics.

All three said they believe the move to the East Coast will drastically help their teams through recruiting, exposure, demographics and new markets.

Snape said more people will see the Bulldog signage, and the move exposes Butler to a region that may not know a lot about Butler.

“Whether you’re looking at academic reputation, recruitment of students, athletic competition and branding and so forth, it’s getting our brand out there on a bigger stage,” athletic director Barry Collier said.

Stevens said that the exposure of Butler on the East Coast should help build the school’s reputation nationwide.

“[The move] will show how ‘The Butler Way’ is the way to go,” he said.

As the spring sports season begins to wind down, many teams are already beginning to prepare for their next season.

The football team had its annual blue and white scrimmage, the men’s soccer team had its spring exhibition matches, and five teams have announced additions to their rosters for next year.

Let’s take a look forward and see how some of Butler’s teams will be changing for the 2012-13 school year.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The men’s basketball team finished the 2011-12 season with a 22-15 record, averaging 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 28.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were ranked eighth and 10th in the Horizon League in those categories, respectively.

The team has a chance to improve with the additions of senior guard and transfer Rotnei Clarke and incoming freshman guard Kellen Dunham.

In three seasons at Arkansas, Clarke averaged more than 15 points per game and shot nearly 44 percent from 3-point range.

Dunham averaged more than 29 points during his senior season at Pendleton Heights High School.

The Bulldogs will also be adding guard Devontae Morgan from Tampa, Fla., and guard Chris Harrison-Docks from Okemos, Mich.

Morgan led his high school team to a state championship last season, averaging more than 15 points and six rebounds per game.

Harrison-Docks averaged 21 points and five steals per game in his senior season.

The team will lose only two players—guard Ronald Nored and forward Garrett Butcher.

Butler will have to make up for the loss of Nored’s defensive prowess, as well as the experience and leadership provided by the pair.

Clarke and seniors Emerson Kampen, Chase Stigall and Andrew Smith will likely be asked to step up and fill those roles.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The women’s basketball team concluded its 2011-12 season with a 13-17 record and said goodbye to two senior guards—Devin Brierly and Kaley May.

Brierly was the only Bulldog to start in all 30 of the team’s games. She recorded more than 32 minutes of playing time per game, averaging 11 points per game.

Sophomore center Sarah Hamm is the only returning player to average more than 10 points per game last season.

Hamm will be joined by sophomore guard Jenna Cobb, freshman forward Hayley Howard and freshman guard Hannah Douglas, who all played key roles on the team last season.

Butler will also be adding four incoming freshman—forward Katie Brewer from Indianapolis, guard Blaire Langlois from Carmel, guard Lexus Murry from Indianapolis and forward-center Olivia Wrencher from West Chester, Ohio.

Brewer is a versatile player who has the ability to knock down three-pointers and battle down low.

Langlois has deep range on her jump shot but also has the ability to make plays with her passing.

Murry averaged more than 22 points per game during her senior season and can also be effective on the defensive end, where she averaged 3.5 steals per game.

Wrencher will bring size to the Bulldogs that will complement the play of Hamm and Howard under the basket.

SOFTBALL

The softball team will lose seven seniors at the conclusion of its current season, including four-year starting outfielder and third baseman Lauren McNulty, Butler’s home run record-holding first baseman Erin Falkenberry and catcher Mallory Winters.

Despite this, coach Scott Hall has five incoming players who could make an immediate impact on the program.

Alex Kotter, a shortstop from Vincennes Lincoln High School, had a .615 career batting average and was an Indiana first team All-State pick.

Chelsea Conover, an outfielder from Brownsburg, led her high school team in stolen bases, runs scored and on-base percentage for three years.

Audrey East is a utility player from New Palestine High School. East is one of the best power hitters in Indiana and boasted a .902 slugging percentage, eight home runs and 47 RBIs last season.

Taylor Lockwood, a pitcher from Southport High School, has good control and will be a solid addition to the pitching staff.

The same could be said for Kristin Gutierrez, a left-handed power pitcher from Highlands Ranch High School in Colorado.

Gutierrez, a 2011 Triple Crown All-American honoree, is a dual threat with her pitching and hitting. She led her conference with 127 strikeouts and recorded a .542 batting average.

The success of the pitching recruits could be key with the loss of senior pitcher Breanna Fisher and injuries to junior pitcher Jenny Esparza this season.

BASEBALL

The baseball team will add four players who could have an immediate impact next season.

Nick Bartolone is a left-handed outfielder from Harrison High School. Coach Steve Farley said he expects Bartolone to compete for position in the outfield next year.

Chris Marras, a catcher from Vernon Hills, Ill., will get the chance to work with two fifth-year senior catchers, Radley Haddad and Nick Hladek.

Nick Saldutti is a power-hitting first baseman from Westfield High School. He hit .477 with a .571 on-base percentage in his junior season.

Drew Small is a utility player from Zionsville. He was an All-State honorable mention.

His versatility and speed will help him compete for a spot in the outfield, especially with the loss of senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit.

The Bulldogs will also lose pitchers Dom Silvestri, Mike Hernandez, Brad Schnitzer, Brian Padove and Ryan Salvino, as well as senior infielder Griffin Richeson.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team is returning eight players who played in at least 50 sets last year and lost only one senior in Maureen Bamiro.

Bamiro, a former middle blocker, finished with the second-best attack percentage in Butler history and sixth all-time in kills and kills per set.

Last season, she was voted All-Horizon League.

The Bulldogs will return sophomore middle blocker Maggie Harbison, who will likely be a key contributor after being voted All-Horizon League last season.

Butler will also add two transfer students.

Freshman Erica Stahl, a transfer from Cincinnati, will be an addition to the middle blocker position.

Stahl only has four sets of collegiate experience under her belt but was named among the top high school volleyball players by the Under Armour Watch list in 2010.

Sophomore Morgan Peterson, a setter from Middle Tennessee State, will have two years of eligibility with the Bulldogs.

She averaged 8.58 assists and 1.41 digs per set last season.

The Butler softball team split the first two games of its three-game series against Horizon League rival Wright State yesterday.

Photo by Josh Morris

In the first game of the series, the Bulldogs (17-26, 7-7) grabbed a 5-1 victory.

Butler got on the board early with a two-out RBI double from senior catcher Mallory Winters.

Then, with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, senior Alyssa Coleman recorded a pinch hit, three-run double to pad Butler’s lead.

The Bulldogs added one more run in the sixth inning.

In the second game, Butler started out strong again.

Freshman third baseman Callie Dennison scored on a single by junior Meaghan Sullivan in the bottom of the first inning.

The Raiders (18-24, 6-8) tied it up in the second inning before the Bulldogs added an unearned run in the third inning.

Errors would plague Butler the rest of game.

The Raiders added two runs in fifth—both unearned—as a result of Butler fielding errors.

The Bulldogs tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, but mistakes on the base paths prevented them from scoring.

“It came down to four errors and some critical base-running mistakes,” coach Scott Hall said. “We have to be able to execute.”

The bright spot for Butler were  solid pitching performances from sophomore Leah Bry in both games.

“Leah was awesome today,” Hall said. “We just have to do a better job of playing defense and backing her up.”

Last weekend, the Bulldogs won one game in a three-game series against conference opponent Green Bay.

Butler lost the first game 4-1, not getting a hit until the seventh inning.

Bry took the loss for the Bulldogs.

The second game was a different story, with the Bulldogs recording a season-high 17 hits and winning by a 9-8 margin.

Butler got out of the gate quickly, scoring four runs in the first inning.

Three of the runs came from a swing of the bat, as senior outfielder Lauren McNulty cracked a three-run home run.

The Phoenix (15-17, 4-5) answered back and took a 7-4 lead into the sixth inning.

In the top of that inning, freshman infielder Kristen Boros hit a solo home run to cut the lead to two.

Butler then tied the game with two runs in the seventh inning.

McNulty broke the 7-7 deadlock in the 10th inning with a solo shot to center field.

It was her sixth long ball of the season.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run with a double from freshman Maria Leichty and an RBI single from Winters, giving the Bulldogs the 9-8 win.

Senior pitcher Breanna Fisher picked up her fourth win of the season.

In the final game of the series, the Phoenix recorded 13 hits and scored 11 runs in just four innings.

Photo by Josh Morris

Butler had only four hits and three runs in the 11-3 loss.

The Bulldogs did pick up a non-conference win last Thursday against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Butler had five hits and a shut-out performance from Bry on the way to 4-0 victory.

The Bulldogs will finish the three-game series against Wright State today.

Butler will then close out its six-game homestand with a three-game series against Detroit this weekend.

Their names do not usually make headlines, and they do not get credit for wins. In fact, they go completely unnoticed most of the time.

They are the ones behind the masks—the catchers for the Butler baseball and softball teams.

The baseball team has four players who have manned the position this season: seniors Nick Hladek and Brian Padove, junior Radley Haddad and sophomore Ryan Wojciechowski.

The softball team has used a rotation of three catchers: seniors Mallory Winters and Alyssa Coleman and freshman Maria Leichty.

The catching position is a unique one and has been argued to be one of the most vital across all sports.

“To me, catcher is one of the most important positions on the team,” Butler baseball coach Steve Farley said.  “Major league scouts say that the quickest way to get to the big leagues is to be a catcher—every team wants a solid player at that position.”

In Little League play, catcher is often one of the least-desired positions.

Winters, however, has been catching since she was 12 years old.

The best of the softball team’s catchers in fielding percentage, Winters started her softball career as a pitcher. She said she decided to try catching one day and “really liked it.”

Hladek also started catching at a young age.

“When you’re little, no one wants to catch because you’re getting beat up, and it’s hot in all the gear,” Hladek said. “I liked it because I got to be in on every play.”

Pitchers and catchers are the only players that touch the ball every single play, but softball coach Scott Hall said it requires an immense amount of focus.

“They’re the only player than can see everything that’s going on,” Hall said. “Everyone else has a sort of blind spot, so [catchers] have to know what’s going on.”

Catchers do not typically get the same kind of recognition that other players on the field do, but they say they are OK with that.

“I think of it as the middle-child syndrome,” Winters said. “You’re not the star. You’re overlooked in the family and on the field, but you have a duty—whether that is catering to the pitcher or getting yelled at for the day.”

Haddad, who leads the team in doubles and has the third-highest batting average among the Bulldogs, said that catchers are not supposed to be noticed.

“I was told once that if you’re a catcher and no one notices you, you did a great job,” Haddad said. “You’re just supposed to do the things you’re supposed to do, do them right, and you’ll do a good job.”

Senior pitcher Brad Schnitzer described catchers as field generals, while sophomore pitcher Leah Bry said she thinks of them as queens and kings of the field.

“You have to be a leader when you’re a catcher,” Bry said. “Everyone’s looking at the pitchers, but they’re really ruling what’s going on.”

Farley said that it takes a certain kind of person to be able to work with different pitchers and be the leader on the field.

“Each catcher has his own personality, and each guy needs to know how to push the buttons of the various pitchers they work with,” Farley said. “You have to know when to pat a pitcher on the back and when to kind of kick him in the butt.”

Catchers take a lot of blame for when things go wrong, whether they are actually at fault or not.

“We don’t expect a lot of high fives,” Coleman said. “Most of the time we’re getting yelled at, but it’s worth it knowing that we’re a part of it.”

Despite the negative aspects of the job, Butler’s catchers said they love what they do.

“It takes a lot to be a catcher,” Haddad said. “It’s tough. It’s mentally and physically taxing—you’re getting beat up back there. It’s a warrior position.

“It’s a beautiful thing to succeed, but I love knowing that, no matter what, I get to come back out and play again tomorrow.”

After coming close to making history last season, the Butler softball team is looking to bounce back and make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament this season.

The team lost only three players to graduation last season and returns an impressive lineup that includes junior Jenny Esparza, the defending Horizon League Pitcher of the Year.

The Bulldogs will also have 2011 All-Horizon League First Team first baseman Erin Falkenberry and outfielder Lauren McNulty back for their senior seasons.

Butler was ranked second behind favorite Illinois-Chicago in the pre-season Horizon League poll.

Falkenberry set the Butler single-season home run record last year with 13 while leading the team with 43 runs batted in. She said the Flames are worthy of being pre-season favorites.

“They won conference last year, and they didn’t lose that many players,” Falkenberry said. “We’re trying to redeem ourselves from last year.”

Photo by Rachel Anderson

Esparza said Horizon League opposition will be difficult this year after Butler finished as runner-up to the Flames in last season’s Horizon League tournament.

“I think it’ll be tough,” Esparza said. “There are a lot of returning players from the previous year.

“It’s always hard competition, especially since we did well last year, so we’ve got a big target on our backs.”

The Bulldogs begin the season by playing four games over two days at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 18 and 19.

In those contests, they will face the host Bison and the Samford Bulldogs in two games apiece.

Butler will face its toughest non-conference challenge when it heads to California on March 9 to participate in the 2012 Bayer CropScience Classic at Fresno State.

Among the nationally-ranked teams Butler will face are California currently No. 3 in the ESPN.com USA Softball poll and No. 11 Oregon.

McNulty, who batted .286 and was second on the team with 29 runs batted in last season, said that the two Pac-12 schools will be the Bulldogs’ toughest competition this season.

“Both teams have just had great softball programs in the past, and I know they made it to the regionals last year, so they’re very good softball schools and well respected in the softball culture,” McNulty said. “I think they’ll be our toughest opponents when we’re on the road.”

Coach Scott Hall said the high-caliber competition will give Butler the opportunity to get ready for the Horizon League portion of its schedule later in the season.

“[The non-conference schedule] prepares us and keeps us consistently finding out what we need to improve on,” Hall said. “It gives us an idea of where we’re at right now and what we need to work on.”

The team’s first home game is during a March 19 doubleheader against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Hall said he hopes the team’s offseason workouts can help the Bulldogs stay focused and keep them from injuries over the course of the season.

“We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning and weight training,” Hall said. “[We are] trying to get our bodies and minds right for the long grind of the season.”

Butler is no different from any type of organization when it comes to hiring new employees.

The only difference is when the school has to hire new coaches.

The school has many spots to fill, ranging from president to adjunct faculty to janitorial staff. Also included are the coaching positions on Butler’s 19 athletic teams.

“A sport without a leader is not very good,” Athletic Director Barry Collier said. “This results in the search for a head coach being completed at a more rapid pace than other hirings at Butler.”

The process for hiring a coach begins with the vacancy itself.

Interested applicants submit their name to the school. The school will then do extensive background checks on each candidate  and  review their credentials to verify the candidates are capable of properly mentoring and teaching a group of collegiate athletes.

After that stage, the process really picks up.

Photo by Maria Porter

For higher profile sports such as basketball and football, a school will typically have a few preferences for possible hires before the vacancy becomes official.

“For some of the smaller sports like [tennis], athletic directors don’t know who they want until the interview pool comes in,” tennis coach Jason Suscha said.

Once the candidate pool swells to an acceptable level, the school begins the interview process, both over the phone and in person.

For second-year softball coach Scott Hall, this step could not arrive soon enough.

Photo by Steven Peek

“I was excited to get into the interview process,” Hall said. “It couldn’t get over fast enough for me.”

Along with interviews, there are multiple ways a school will attempt to lure coaches to its programs.

Collier said that academics, facilities, other staff members, the current team members, available scholarships and operating budget all come into play during the hiring process.

“None of these factors is more important than the others,” Collier said.

With these variables in mind, the athletics department then attempts to find the best candidate to fill the position—for both the student-athletes and the sport.

“There were certain standards, like the Butler Way, that they made sure I understood and was capable of upholding,” Hall said.

The task of finding a new coach is not a one-person job, however.

Collier said there is always a committee, usually ranging from three to six people, that is actively involved at some step in the hiring process.

In addition to the athletic director, a member from the human resources department participates, as do other coaches.

Even though Hall is just entering his second year coaching the Butler softball team, he participated on the committee to hire a new soccer coach last fall.

The final say in the hiring process always rests with the university president. Once the president approves the hire, a formal request will be sent to the candidate.

Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics

Butler’s 12 current head coaches have accepted that request, and there will certainly be more acceptances in the future.

“Butler either sends a formal request or [the request] is sent to the NCAA website, which happens  through Butler’s Human Resources Department,” Suscha said.