Front Row (L-R): Devin Brierly, Becca Bornhorst, Claire Freeman, Dragana Grbic, Elizabeth Jennings, Kaley May. Back Row (L-R): Azjah Bass, Brittany Bowen, Alyssa Pittman, Amie Kabara, Melanie Thornton, Susan Lester, Chloe Hamilton, Jenny Ostrom, Terra Burns.
2009-10 Butler Bulldogs No.
2 3 10 11 12 13 20 21 23 24 25 30 32 33 42
Name
Claire Freeman Alyssa Pittman Brittany Bowen Amie Kabara Terra Burns Elizabeth Jennings Becca Bornhorst Dragana Grbic Azjah Bass Melanie Thornton Devin Brierly Susan Lester Chloe Hamilton Kaley May Jenny Ostrom
Pos. G G/F G/F C G G/F F C G F/C G F/C F G F/C
Ht.
5-8 5-8 5-10 5-11 5-8 6-1 6-1 6-2 5-7 6-1 5-9 6-2 5-10 5-10 6-0
Year Fr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. Jr. So. So.
Hometown/High School (Last College)
Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian Elkhart, Ind./Memorial (Eastern Michigan) Columbus, Ind./Columbus North Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen Peoria, Ill./Peoria Anderson, Ind./Lapel Dublin, Ohio/Dublin-Coffman Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North Carmel, Ind./Carmel Hanover, Ind./Southwestern Anderson, Ind./Pendleton Heights Holt, Mich./Holt Avon, Ind./Avon St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village
Head Coach: Beth Couture (Erskine ‘84), 8th Season Assistant Coach: Amy Cherubini (Indiana ;94), 4th Season Assistant Coach: Seph Hatley (Pfeiffer ‘94), 6th Season Assistant Coach: Angel Mason (Butler ‘04), 2nd Season
2009-10 Butler Basketball Table of Contents
Roster and Team Photo...................................IFC Letter from Coach Couture..................................1 Welcome to Butler........................................... 2-3 Hinkle Fieldhouse............................................ 4-5 The City of Indianapolis................................... 6-7 Being a Bulldog............................................... 8-9 The Horizon League..........................................10 2009-10 Preview Season Outlook........................................... 12-13 Pre-Season Information....................................14 Media Information..............................................14 THE COACHES Head Coach Beth Couture.......................... 16-17 Assistant Coach Amy Cherubini........................18 Assistant Coach Seph Hatley............................19 Assistant Coach Angel Mason...........................20 Basketball Support Staff....................................21 Athletic Staff and Services.................................22 THE PLAYERS Returning Players Amie Kabara................................................ 24-25 Susan Lester............................................... 26-27 Melanie Thornton......................................... 28-29 Azjah Bass.................................................. 30-31 Brittany Bowen............................................ 32-33 Terra Burns.................................................. 34-35 Chloe Hamilton............................................ 36-37 Devin Brierly................................................ 38-39 Kaley May.................................................... 40-41 Jenny Ostrom.............................................. 42-43 Alyssa Pittman...................................................44 Newcomers Becca Bornhorst................................................45 Claire Freeman..................................................46 Dragana Grbic...................................................47 Elizabeth Jennings............................................48 2008-09 REVIEW Season in Review........................................ 50-51 WNIT.................................................................52 2008-09 Statistics..............................................53 Seniors, All-Time Roster....................................54
From The Desk Of
Head Coach Beth Couture Welcome to Butler Women’s Basketball! Former professional football great Tony Dorsett once said, “To succeed….You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” And so it goes with our team slogan this year, Play Inspired. I have challenged our team to find that one thing that inspires them - that one thing that will motivate them to practice, study hard and continually play to the best of their ability. With the 2008-2009 season, we achieved our goal of playing in the postseason, having participated in the WNIT for the first time since the 1998 season. We will continue to focus on winning the Horizon League Championship and earning an NCAA Tournament berth while at the same time emphasizing our commitment to developing and preparing our student-athletes for a successful life after graduation. We anticipate that The Butler Way will follow them throughout their career, both on and off the court. I hope that you enjoy this media guide. May it serve as a tool to familiarize you with Butler University Women’s Basketball. When you review it, I think you’ll see why we are excited about this upcoming season. GO BULLDOGS!!
Beth Couture
Head Coach Butler Women’s Basketball
OPPONENTS 2009-10 Opponents..................................... 56-60 2008-09 Tournaments........................................60 Results vs. 2008-09 Opponents........................61 All-Time Series Records....................................62 HISTORY & RECORDS Butler Notables..................................................64 Honors and Awards...........................................65 Team/Yearly Leaders.........................................66 Single Game Records.......................................67 Single Season Records............................... 68-69 Career Records........................................... 70-71 On The Road With Butler Basketball...............IBC
Credits: The 2009-10 Butler women’s basketball media guide was written and updated by Josh Rattray, Assistant Sports Information Director. Design and editing assistance provided by Jim McGrath, Associate AD for Communications, and Joe Gentry, Director of Corporate Sponsorships. Cover design by Butler Marketing Communications office. Head shots and team photo by Brent Smith, Butler University. Special thanks to the Horizon League and VSN Photography. Printing by Multi-Ad, Peoria, Ill.
2009-10 Butler Basketball •
Butler University Welcome To
Butler!
The five faculty and 113 students present when Butler University opened in 1855 laid a solid foundation for more than 150 years of creative change and progress. Today’s 4,200 students carry on that legacy, as they continue to look ahead while treasuring the traditions unique to Butler. The young school, originally named North Western Christian University, was unusually innovative. It was the first in Indiana, and only the third in the nation, to admit women on an equal basis with men. With the appointment in 1858 of Catherine Merrill as Demia Butler Professor of English, the institution became the second in the country to appoint a woman faculty member, the first to establish an endowed chair specifically for a female professor and the first to establish a professorship in English literature. The school was also the first in Indiana to allow its students, with parental consent, to choose subjects suited to their needs under a new “elective” system. As Indianapolis grew, the city’s commercial district began to penetrate the heavily-wooded campus at what is now the corner of Thirteenth Street and College Avenue. In 1873, the board of directors decided to sell the downtown campus and accept a gift of 25 acres in Irvington, then a suburb east of Indianapolis. In 1877, North Western Christian University became Butler University, taking the name of its founder and benefactor, Indianapolis attorney Ovid Butler. Butler moved again 50 years later, as the “Circle City” continued to grow. In 1928, classes were held for the first time in Jordan Hall, an imposing new Gothic structure erected on the beautiful Fairview Park Site, a wooded tract north of the city on the White River and the Inland Waterway Canal. Today’s students come from nearly every state in the nation and from many foreign countries to enroll in degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, or in one of four professional colleges -- Business Administration, Education, Fine Arts or Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Butler is one of only 21 private schools in the country offering a pharmacy program.
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Butler University
True to the vision of its founders, the University continues to offer an array of professional and pre-professional programs within the context of a strong commitment to the traditional arts and sciences and to the values of liberal education. Butler continues to welcome highly motivated, intellectually curious men and women, and to prepare them for lives of professional and community service and creative, ethical action. Butler is one of the top 20 US colleges for producing business executives, is in the top 10% for preparing future Ph.D.s and is located in the No. 2 city for college graduates starting a career. Although the thriving city of Indianapolis has once again grown to surround Butler University, the 290-acre campus remains a serenely beautiful area with 20 buildings, playing fields, a formal botanical garden, and a nature preserve surrounded by wellestablished residential communities. Located only five miles from “The Circle,” the heart of the city, the campus offers easy access to cultural and sporting events in downtown Indianapolis. Butler’s mission is to provide the highest quality of liberal and professional education and to integrate the liberal arts into professional education by creating, and fostering a stimulating intellectual community built upon interactive dialogue and inquiry among faculty and students. Butler University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The University is licensed for teacher training by the State Department of Education in Indiana and appears on the approved list of the American Association of University Women.
2009-10 Butler Basketball •
Hinkle Fieldhouse
College Basketball’s Original Palace
Hinkle Fieldhouse has reigned as one of the nation’s great sports arenas for more than eight decades. The classic facility was constructed in 1928 and it has “Go to a Saturday afternoon basketball game stood up to the test of time, maintaining the splendor, character and atmosphere at Hinkle Fieldhouse, when the sunlight filters that made it one of the nation’s most famous basketball arenas more than half through the south windows. For that matter a century ago. go to any game, any time, at Hinkle.” The Fieldhouse, which remained virtually unchanged for more than 60 years, received a major facelift during the summer of 1989. Among the changes to - Bill Benner, Indianapolis Star and News, Aug. 4, 1998 the historical building were new chairback seats in the lower arena, new doors and windows on the south side of the exterior, new basketball offices, a training room and locker rooms off the main arena, a VIP lounge, repaved parking lot, outside landscaping, extensive interior painting and a new public address system In more recent years, the Fieldhouse has received a new weight room, new football offices, sports information/marketing offices, administrative offices and a state-of-the-art sound system. All of the renovations have been geared toward upgrading the facility, while retaining the history and nostalgia of the home of “Hoosier Hysteria.” The original construction of Butler Fieldhouse was part of a massive project designed to give Butler one of the finest athletic plants in the nation. The project was financed by a corporation of 41 prominent and farsighted Indianapolis businessmen. Completion of the Fieldhouse was guaranteed when Butler signed a lease agreement with the Indiana High School Athletic Association allowing the high school state tournament to be Constructed in 1928, Hinkle Fieldhouse is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. played in the massive new facility. Butler’s association with the It’s been the site of countless memorable basketball games and many basketball legends, IHSAA continued from 1928 to 1971, with a brief interruption including John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis and Larry Bird, have played on the Hinkle hardwood. during the war years, 1943-45.
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Hinkle Fieldhouse Butler played its first basketball game in the Fieldhouse on March 7, 1928, defeating Notre Dame 21-13, in overtime. Since the Fieldhouse was not entirely completed at that time, the building dedication was held off until December 21, 1928. The name of the facility was changed in 1966 from Butler Fieldhouse to Hinkle Fieldhouse in honor of Butler’s legendary coach and athletic director Paul D. “Tony” Hinkle, who built the University’s athletic tradition over nearly half a century. In addition to being the home of Butler basketball, the Fieldhouse has served as host to six U.S. presidents (Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton), the Billy Graham Crusade, the Sonja Henie Ice Show, four professional basketball teams, the U.S. Olympic basketball trials, the first USSR-USA basketball game, all-star basketball games for the NBA and ABA and the East-West College All-Stars, the nationally-prominent Butler Relays in track, tennis matches of both Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer, the 1982 World Goal Ball Championships, a three-ring circus, several equestrian events, the Roller Derby, a six-day bicycle race, and the popular movie “Hoosiers.” The building also housed the U. S. military as a barracks during World War II. During the summer of 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse again received national and international attention as the site for the volleyball competition at the 10th Pan American Games. The largest crowd ever to see a volleyball match in the United States (14,500) gathered in the Fieldhouse to see the USA defeat Cuba in the men’s gold medal match. When the Fieldhouse was originally constructed, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States and it retained that distinction for more than 20 years. Renovation in the early 1990’s reduced the seating capacity from 15,000 to around 10,000, but the aura and atmosphere that made Hinkle Fieldhouse the nation’s first great basketball arena remains.
When Hinkle Fieldhouse opened in 1928, the basketball floor ran east and west, which put more than half the seats at the ends of the court. The court was turned to its current configuration in the early 1930’s.
Best Places to Watch College Hoops
(according to 1998-99 Street & Smith’s College Basketball)
1. Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke 2. Mackey Arena, Purdue 3. McKale Center, Arizona 4. Rupp Arena, Kentucky 5. Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler
Hinkle Fieldhouse was the site of the Indiana High School state championship from 1928 to 1971, except during World War II. Legendary games in the Fieldhouse gave birth to “Hoosier Hysteria.”
Site of the climactic final game in “HOOSIERS”
In December of 1985, Hinkle Fieldhouse was turned into a Hollywood stage for the filming of the popular movie Hoosiers, recently named one of the “Top 10” sports movies ever.
Hoosiers was based on the 1954 Indiana High School state championship game at Butler Fieldhouse when tiny Milan defeated Muncie Central, 32-30, on a last second shot by Bobby Plump.
2009-10 Butler Basketball •
The City of Indianapolis
Opportunity, Hospitality & Sports!
Just when it seemed the sporting scene in Indianapolis couldn’t get any better, it did! Long recognized as the “Amateur Sports Capitol of the World”, Indianapolis is in the midst of another sports explosion. From the Indiana Pacers to the Final Four, Peyton Manning and the Super Bowl Champion Colts to the spectacular Victory Field, the Butler Bulldogs, the NCAA, and Conseco Fieldhouse, everywhere you turn sports are booming! It’s not surprising. Sports have played a key role in the development of the Hoosier state capital. Indianapolis gained an international reputation as host of the largest single-day sporting event in the world - the Indianapolis 500. In fact, the city hosts the two largest single-day sporting events in the world - the Indy 500 and the All-State 400 at the Brickyard. Indianapolis hosted the Pan American Games in 1987, the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1980, 1991, 1997, 2000 and 2006, the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2005, the World Gymnastics Championship in 1991, the World Rowing Championships in 1994, the World Basketball Championship in 2002, the World Swimming Championship in 2004, has hosted Olympic trials in swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming, Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts and the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final national championships in gymnastics, boxing, track and field, rowing, Four, opened to rave reviews in August of 2008.
The Indianapolis Canal Walk runs past museums, parks and residential areas as it heads towards downtown and is a great place to run, walk or relax.
• 2009-10 Butler Basketball
The City of Indianapolis
The Indiana Fever advanced to the WNBA Finals for the first time, coming one game from winning the title.
The Indianapolis 500 is dubbed as the largest single-day sporting event in the world.
canoe/kayak, swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, archery and ice skating, and numerous NCAA championships. Indianapolis boasts the Indiana Pacers of the NBA, the Indiana Fever of the WNBA and the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. The Triple-A Indianapolis Indians play in one of the finest minor league baseball parks in the nation - Victory Field - and the city is called home by the United States Hockey League’s Indianapolis Ice. Indy has hosted the 1993 U. S. Women’s Open Professional Golf Tournament, the 1991 PGA, and the Brickyard Crossing Senior Golf Classic and the 2005 Solheim Cup. The Indianapolis Tennis Championships at the Indianapolis Tennis Center has become one of the major tennis tournaments in the world. The Hoosier capital houses the headquarters for numerous national amateur sports governing bodies, including the United States Gymnastics Federation, USA Track and Conseco Fieldhouse, which is home of the Indiana Pacers (NBA) and IndiField, U. S. Diving, U. S. Synchronized Swimming and the United States Rowing As- ana Fever (WNBA), is modeled after Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. sociation. The Horizon League headquarters is located in Indianapolis and the NCAA national office moved to Indianapolis in 2001 Not surprisingly, Indianapolis features a wide array of world-class sports facilities. The brand new 63,000 seat Lucas Oil Stadium is home to the Indianapolis Colts and will host the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. The Indiana Pacers play in the 18,500-seat Conseco Fieldhouse. The city is home to the Indiana University Natatorium, featuring one of the fastest swimming pools in the world, the state-of-the-art National Institute for Fitness and Sport, the Indianapolis Tennis Center which houses 24 tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium, the 12,500-seat IU Track and Field Stadium, the Major Taylor Velodrome, historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and Victory Field.
The Circle Centre mall features more than 100 shopping, dining and entertainment options in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.
Monument Circle is located in the center of downtown and has come to symbolize the city of Indianapolis.
2009-10 Butler Basketball •
Being a Bulldog The Locker Room At Hinkle Fieldhouse Whether its finding a great place to relax or study between classes or prepare for the next grueling competition on the Hinkle Fieldhouse floor, the Butler women’s basketball locker room is the place to be. The multi-functional locker room is located adjacent to the Butler women’s basketball offices, training room and the main floor of Hinkle Fieldhouse. The facility features a lounge area with desk space and laptops with internet access for studying as well as couches, a projection TV with surround sound, DVD, microwave and refrigerator for breaks. The locker area is set off from the lounge area and boasts large wooden lockers and ample space for storage of equipment and belongings. A shower area and restroom facilities are located directly across from the locker area.
Travel in Style The Bulldogs use one of the finest fleets of bus transportation for road games through Pyramid Luxury Coach. The 45-foot coach features flat panel TVs with DVD/VCR players and satellite dish, a kitchenette with refrigerator, microwave and sink and an on-board restroom. Each player chair is a high-back leather bucket seat with cup holders and cell phone charger outlets. Wireless internet access is also available throughout the coach.
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Being a Bulldog
Community Outreach
The Butler women’s basketball team has always had a hand in helping out in the community, especially during head coach Beth Couture’s tenure. In fact, the Bulldogs were the recipient of the Horizon League’s Community Outreach Award in both 2003 and 2005. Most recently, the Bulldogs have assisted at the Special Olympics Area 8 Bowling Championships at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis. Members of the team and coaching staff helped out as lane assistants, runners and scorers for the event and presented the awards to the winners. Additionally, the team has held canned food drives, visited area schools and hospitals, hosted a Halloween Safe Night and much more!
Community Service in 2007-08
Community Service in 2008-09
The Butler basketball team helped out wrapping presents at the North Central Church of Christ for families in need during the holiday season.
Azjah Bass reads to 4th graders at Zionsville Eagle Elementary in Zionsville, Ind.
• Home Runs for Charity at Pike High School • Basketball Clinic in Columbus, Ind. • Bookin’ With The Bulldogs reading program • Worked with Habitat for Humanity • Read to kids at Kiddie Koop • Helped with United Christmas Service • Collected canned foods for Gleaners Food Pantry • Are You Smarter Than a 5th grader? at Central Elementary
• Worked on Staff at Dick Lugar Run • Knollfest, a music fest fundraiser for Indianapolis Public Schools • Gave tours of homes in Broad Ripple area (Indianapolis) • Participated in walk for Heart Disease Association • Wrapped presents • Participated in a walk benefitting breast cancer research • Bookin’ With The Bulldogs reading program
2009-10 Butler Basketball •
The Horizon League In its 31st season of operation in the 2009-10 academic year, the Horizon League continues to aspire toward its goal of being one of the nation’s leading athletics conferences while being recognized as a leader in the development of student-athletes as Pan American Plaza 201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 500 leaders and role models. The Horizon League membership Indianapolis, IN 46225 features ten public and private (317) 237-5622 institutions that have impressive Fax - (317) 237-5620 academic reputations and a storied www.horizonleague.org tradition of broad-based athletic www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv programs. Current membership includes Butler University, Cleveland State University, the University of Detroit Mercy, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Valparaiso University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wright State University and Youngstown State University. The Horizon League’s primary focus is on adding value to the educational experience through its four platforms: athletic performance, academic achievement, community outreach, and personal responsibility and accountability. It is the League’s belief that athletics is a powerful and visible resource tool that can be used to enhance student-athletes’ collegiate experience. The Horizon League’s goals are to enhance the holistic university experience for the student-athlete, to create an affiliation of institutions with similar athletic goals, and to adhere to the principals of integrity, diversity, excellence and growth. The Horizon League sponsors competition in 19 sports – nine for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and tennis) and ten for women (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis and volleyball). The League receives automatic bids to NCAA championships in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, and for the first time in League history, women’s golf. The Horizon League is headquartered in Indianapolis, the “Amateur Sports Capital of the World,” with offices located a block from Lucas Oil Stadium and just minutes from Conseco Fieldhouse, the State Capitol Building, Victory Field (home of the Indianapolis Indians) and the NCAA national office. ATHLETIC SUCCESS In the past few years, the Horizon League has enjoyed unprecedented success on the national stage, highlighted by three Sweet Sixteen appearances (Butler 2003, 2007; Milwaukee 2005) and nine wins in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in the past seven seasons. In other sports, League teams have won at least one game in their respective NCAA Championships each of the last seven seasons in men’s soccer (Milwaukee 2002-05, UIC 2006-08), with UIC just one win away from the College Cup in 2007. In softball, League teams won a game in the national tournament four straight years earlier in the decade (UIC 2002, 2004; Wright State 2003; Green Bay 2005) while advancing into the second round in women’s soccer three of the last five seasons (Detroit 2004, Milwaukee 2005-06). Green Bay’s women’s basketball team added to that résumé with a victory in the 2007 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Butler’s Victoria Mitchell
10 • 2009-10 Butler Basketball
became the League’s first NCAA individual champion when she won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. ACADEMIC SUCCESS Horizon League student-athletes also excel in the classroom as more than 500 have been named to the Academic Honor Roll each of the past seven semesters for carrying a grade-point average of 3.2 or better, including more than 600 for the last four semesters. Twenty-five student-athletes were named to ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District teams in 2008-09, while eight earned Academic All-America honors. COMMUNITY SERVICE In addition to its athletics success, the Horizon League has secured a wellearned reputation for its community service initiatives. Each January, member institutions partner with local elementary schools for an art, music and essay contest highlighting the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with winners recognized at League games on the weekend of MLK Day. The Horizon League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) also has continued a tradition of working with youth in Indianapolis during its annual summer meeting. In addition, several League men’s basketball coaches coached barefoot to support Samaritan’s Feet, and the League’s schools and fans donate to Komen for the Cure for breast cancer awareness during its annual women’s basketball championship. On campus, student-athletes have raised money and awareness for such causes as breast cancer, diabetes and hurricane relief, while hosting blood drives, neighborhood clean-ups, Big Brother/Big Sister programs and more. SPORTSMANSHIP One of the Horizon League’s points of emphasis is fostering collegial environments for competition among student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans in a pro-active approach. Among the vehicles is the Ethical Conduct Pledge, which is signed each season by student-athletes, coaches, officials, and campus and League administrators. Its purpose is to make all the involved groups aware of the Horizon League expectations of behavior during conference events. LEADERSHIP Jonathan B. (Jon) LeCrone is in his 18th year as Commissioner of the Horizon League, having been named to the position on May 11, 1992, and is the fifth-longest tenured commissioner among the 31 Division I conferences. He is the fifth commissioner in League history, succeeding Daniel B. “Tucker” DiEdwardo (1989-92), James W. Shaffer (1984-89), Cecil N. Coleman (1980-84) and James J. McCafferty (1979-80). HORIZON LEAGUE NETWORK The Horizon League is a recognized leader in video streaming, through the Horizon League Network (HLN), having produced more than 1,200 free, live events in the past four years. HLN also features vignettes of all 19 League championships, weekly highlight videos during the men’s and women’s basketball season and other special programming. The network is primed for unprecedented success and growth beginning in 2009-10, as it has partnered with WebStream Productions, a national leader in live sports webcasting with clients including NCAA championships and the Indianapolis Indians Triple A baseball team.
2009-10 Preview 2009-10 Butler Basketball 2009-10 Butler Basketball • 11
2009-10 Outlook
Play Inspired
The 2009-10 Bulldogs are aiming for a league championship With all of the talent returning for Butler this season, it isn’t hard to wonder why head coach Beth Couture and the 2009-10 Bulldogs are eager and anxious to take the floor. Butler, which was won 20 games each of the past two seasons, returns four starters and 10 letterwinners from last season’s team. And coming off a second round appearance in the WNIT, there’s only one way left to go: the NCAA Tournament. “Everyone in our program has worked extremely hard,” Couture said. “We are anxious to get on the floor and meet the high expectations we have set for ourselves.” The Bulldogs are certainly inspired to reach those high expectations. With a loaded and experienced team, Butler is primed to compete for a Horizon League championship. However, with just three seniors, the Bulldogs have set the table for extended success for the next several seasons. This year’s squad will be very balanced, with both the perimeter players and the post players counted on to deliver. That also gives opponents nightmares about who to cover, because the Bulldogs have shown they can score from all over the floor.
Bowen is the leading returning guard. The junior from Columbus, Ind., led the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game. She was also among the Horizon League leaders in 3pt. percentage (.405) and free throw percentage (.829). A dead-on shooter, Bowen can also get to the basket and finish with either hand. “Brittany has improved every year here,” Couture said. “The sky is the limit for her. She can shoot, get to the hole, handle the ball and pass. She’s worked hard and we’re excited to see what she can do this year.”
Talent, experience on the perimeter Butler is deep and extremely talented on the perimeter. Both of last season’s starting guards return in juniors Terra Burns and Brittany Bowen. Coupled with solid returning back-ups and some talented newcomers, it’s easy to see why Couture enters the season beaming about her outside attack. “Our guard play should be as good as it has been since I’ve been here at Butler,” Couture said. “And that says a lot because we have had some great players at guard over the years. “We should score a lot and also be better defensively this season as well.”
12 • 2009-10 Butler Basketball
Junior guard Terra Burns is back to handle the ball for Butler this season. She started 24 games at point guard last season, averaging 5.9 points and 2.6 assists per game.
Burns started 24 games at point guard last season, developing into one of the team’s most important players during last season’s run to the postseason. Burns, who was voted one of the team’s three captains by her teammates, saw her minutes and her production increase as last season went on. “After not playing much as a freshman (in 2007-08), Terra carried us to the WNIT,” Couture said. “She is now more explosive and more confident. She can cause other teams trouble with her quickness and her length.” Not only do the Bulldogs have their starting backcourt of Bowen and Burns intact, two other guards with significant experience - junior Azjah Bass and sophomore Devin Brierly - also return. Bass has two years of experience in Butler’s system and, after battling injuries for two years, she is primed to see major minutes in the Butler backcourt. “Azjah is our most fundamentally-sound guard,” Couture said. “She helps us because she can play both guard positions, and she’s solid on both ends of the floor.” Brierly is a skilled shooter and ball-hander who played 11.5 minutes per game as a freshman last season. Another versatile guard, she can also play both point guard and shooting guard. “Devin has a lot of skills,” Couture said. “We asked her to get stronger, and she has done Junior guard Brittany Bowen led the team in scoring with that. We are excited for what she can bring to 10.9 points per game. She averaged 12.2 per contest in us this year.” conference play and scored at least 15 points in a game eight times.
2009-10 Outlook In addition, the Butler perimeter corps has been bolstered by the addition of junior Alyssa Pittman and freshmen Claire Freeman and Elizabeth Jennings. Pittman transferred to Butler from Eastern Michigan in 2008 and sat out last season to meet NCAA transfer requirements. During her two seasons at EMU, she averaged 12.3 points per game and made 152 3-pointers. She was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007. “Alyssa is an instant scorer,” Couture said. “She is a dangerous shooter who can also get to the basket. Opponents will have to guard her everywhere.” Freeman joins the Bulldogs after leading Heritage Christian High School to four state championships. A skilled offensive player, she was one of the top guards in the state of Indiana the past few seasons. “Claire is a winner,” Couture said. “She can play anywhere on the perimeter and she plays with a lot of confidence.” Jennings is an all-state player from Anderson, Ind., who scored 1,100 points in her high school career. “Liz is a strong shooter and we’re excited to have her in our program,” Couture said. Additionally, the Bulldogs can count on sophomore Kaley May on the perimeter. May saw action in nine games last season. “Kaley is a very athletic player who has worked hard to improve,” Couture said. two senior leaders highlight post The Bulldogs’ task of replacing graduated senior Lade Akande is a tough one. Akande was a four-year starter and scored 1,705 points in a Bulldog uniform. However, the leadership and strong play of returning seniors Susan Lester and Melanie Thornton ensure that Butler will still have strong play in the post. “We have two great post players in Susan and Mel who have starting experience,” Couture said. “They have helped us continue to improve as a program.” Lester, who enters the season with 994 career points, is a skilled offensive player that opens a lot of options for the Bulldogs. The 6-2 senior tri-captain can score on the block or hit the 3. At no time has that been more evident than last season against Valparaiso when Lester sank five treys and scored a career-high 31 points. “Susan causes a lot of problems for our opponents because she can score in so many ways,” Couture said. “The key for her this season is to provide solid leadership, and I have all the confidence in the world that she will be a great leader for us.” Thornton, the team’s third tri-captain this season, shook off an assortment of injuries her first two years to have a breakout junior campaign last year. She averaged 9.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season and was
her shot and she can finish.” In addition, the Bulldogs have senior Amie Kabara returning. She is a 5-11 post from Waynesfield, Ohio, who did not play last year due to injury. “Amie is a very hard worker and an important piece in our program,” Couture said. “We are excited to have Amie back in action this year.”
Senior Susan Lester needs just six points to become the 20th player in Butler history to score 1,000 points. She averaged 10.2 points per game last season.
named to the Horizon League’s all-defensive team, leading the Bulldogs with 71 steals and 44 blocked shots. “Mel is athletic and can get up and down the floor. She has physical attributes you just can’t teach,” Couture said. In addition to Lester and Thornton, Butler returns junior forward Chloe Hamilton, who has played significant minutes off the bench the past two seasons. Hamilton shot 50 percent from the floor last season and provided Butler with another post player with perimeter skills. “Chloe has shown improvement every single day,” Couture said. “She works hard and gives an unbelievable effort.” Three other post players will also be counted on as contributors: redshirt sophomore Jenny Ostrom and true freshmen Becca Bornhorst and Dragana Grbic. Ostrom saw action in 11 games and was productive when she was on the floor. After redshirting 2007-08 as a freshman, Ostrom’s evolving into a player who can step up when called upon. “Jenny is a good rebounder and has very solid post moves,” Couture said. Bornhorst is a 6-1 forward from central Ohio who has guard-like skills. She set single-season field goal and 3-pt. shooting percentage records in high school. “Becca is much like Susan in that she has perimeter skills, and that is important in our system,” Couture said. “She is a player who can do a lot of things for us.” Grbic is a 6-2 true post player from Terre Haute, Ind., who was a 2009 Indiana All-Star. She is a player who can finish plays on the block and around the basket. “Dragana is really good with her back to the basket,” Couture said. “She has good touch on
Schedule highlighted by cancun trip Couture and the Bulldogs have once again put together a challenging non-conference schedule. “Every year we try to play a tough schedule, and this year’s may be our toughest since I’ve been at Butler,” Couture said. “We know we have to play a tough schedule to get ready for the Horizon League schedule.” BU will take on many of the top teams in the midwest, including teams such as Kentucky, Dayton, Cincinnati, Ball State and Miami (Ohio). Butler also plays Evansville, Indiana State, St. Louis and IPFW in the early part of the season. Additionally, Butler annually plays in a Thanksgiving tournament in exciting locations such as Miami, Fla., San Francisco and Alaska. This season’s trip may be the best yet, as the Bulldogs head to Cancun, Mexico, for two games over the holiday weekend. “The Thanksgiving trips give us a chance to bond with our Butler family,” Couture said. “Here at Butler, we have 10 days off of school for Thanksgiving and we try to do something nice while improving as a basketball team. It gives us a chance to enjoy our players and their parents outside of basketball for a while.”
Senior forward Melanie Thornton was named to the 2009 Horizon League All-Defensive Team last year. She led the team in steals (71) and blocks (44).
2009-10 Butler Basketball • 13
2009-10 Preseason Info Horizon League Preseason Information The Horizon League Preseason Polls taken by a vote of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and media members.
Horizon League Preseason Poll
Team (First Place Votes) . . . . . . . . . . Points 1. Green Bay (19) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 2. Cleveland State (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 3. Butler (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 4. UIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 5. Milwaukee (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 6. Valparaiso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 7. Wright State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 8. Detroit (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 9. Loyola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 10. Youngstown State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Preseason All-Horizon League First Team
Kailey Klein, Cleveland State (Preseason Player of the Year) Jessie Miller, UIC Shawnita Garland, Cleveland State Celeste Hoewisch, Green Bay Susan Lester, Butler
Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team LaShawna Thomas, Wright State Lauren Kenney, Valparaiso Kayla Tetschlag, Green Bay Brittany Bowen, Butler Jasmine Bailey, UIC
Butler Basketball on the Air
Senior Susan Lester was tabbed first team Preseason All-Horizon League in this season’s preseason poll of coaches, SIDs and media members.
The 2009-10 Butler women’s basketball media and recruiting guide has been prepared to assist members of the print and electronic media with their coverage of the Bulldogs. For additional information or pictures, please contact Josh Rattray, Assistant SID.
JOSH RATTRAY
Assistant Sports Information Director Women’s Basketball Contact Butler University Hinkle Fieldhouse 510 W. 49th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 Fans worldwide can catch Butler women’s basketball as every home game and Horizon League away contest will have live video streaming through the Horizon League Network. The games can be found at ButlerSports.com and HorizonLeagueNetwork.tv. The championship game of the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship is carried live on ESPNU. Other TV games for the Bulldogs will be announced on ButlerSports.com.
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E-mail address: jrattray@butler.edu IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS Butler Athletic Department.................................... (317) 940-9375 Head Coach Beth Couture................................... (317) 940-9692 Josh Rattray (Office)............................................. (317) 940-9994 Josh Rattray (Cell)................................................ (317) 828-9312 SID FAX................................................................ (317) 940-9808 Press Row............................................................ (317) 940-9817
The Coaches 2009-10 Butler Basketball 2009-10 Butler Basketball • 15
Coaching Staff Beth
Couture
• Head Coach • 8th season at Butler • 21st season as a head coach • 363 career wins • 105 wins at Butler • Erskine ‘84
Another item has been marked off the Butler women’s basketball checklist. But there is still more work to do. After consecutive 20-win seasons and a trip to the WNIT, Butler and head coach Beth Couture are aiming for new territory: a league championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The eighth-year coach has continued to lead the Bulldogs to new heights with each successive season at the helm, including the program’s first 20-win campaign in 10 seasons in 2008, and a second 20-win campaign last season The successful season marked the first time since 1996 the program has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons. It was the first time since the 1997-98 season the Bulldogs have made it to the postseason. When Couture first stepped onto the Butler campus, she knew she faced one of the toughest challenges of her coaching career. The Bulldog team that went 3-26 the season before she took the reins hardly resembled her squads at Presbyterian College, where she won nearly 70 percent of her games over the course of 13 seasons. But after developing the roster she inherited and infusing it with several talented recruiting classes, Couture has the Bulldogs consistently ranked among the Horizon League’s best. After doubling their win total in Couture’s first year at the helm, the Bulldogs have gone on to either match or increase their total victories in every season since. Along the way, the program has had six members named to All-Horizon League teams, four tabbed to the All-Newcomer Team and four more mentioned on the All-Defensive squad. Additionally, three Couture recruits (Lade Akande, Jackie Closser and Ellen Hamilton) have gone on to score more than 1,000 points in
their careers, with 2009-10 senior Susan Lester entering her senior year with 994. Butler finished the 2003-04 campaign with a 14-15 record, including a 9-7 Horizon League mark and appearance in the semi-finals of the league tournament. The Bulldogs came together when it counted most, posting victories in nine of their final 13 games for the team’s first winning league record in five seasons. A 14-14 overall record followed in 2004-05 before the Bulldogs improved to 15-14 in 2005-06 for the team’s first above-.500 overall mark since 1998-99. Butler increased its win total again in 2006-07, finishing with a 16-15 overall record and 11-5 mark in league play for a second-place tie in the conference, the team’s best league record and highest standing in nearly 10 years. The season culminated with the Bulldogs rolling to a pair of wins in the Horizon League Tournament and making their first appearance in the championship game since 1998. The 2007-08 season was the program’s most successful under Couture, as the Bulldogs finished with a 20-10 overall record, the best mark since the 1997-98 team went 25-6. Included in that figure was a dominant 10-1 record in non-league play, the best total
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since the 1990-91 team notched a 10-1 slate. Couture began her collegiate head coaching career in 1989-90 at Presbyterian College. Thirteen successful seasons later, she had compiled an impressive 258-117 (.688) overall record, including eight 20-win seasons. In addition, she led the program to six trips to the NCAA Division II national tournament in her final nine years. She led the team to three straight South Atlantic Conference (SAC) regular season and SAC Tournament titles from 1998 to 2000. A four-time SAC “Coach of the Year” recipient, Couture mentored 18 all-conference selections and three conference “Players of the Year.” The 1999-2000 team went 28-2 and won the SAC regular season title with a 15-1 record. The Blue Hose also won the SAC Tournament title and hosted the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament. PC was ranked as high as fourth in the nation during that season. The only coach in the conference’s history to be named “Coach of the Year” in two different women’s sports, Couture guided the Blue Hose volleyball team to three national tournaments, including the school’s first-ever NCAA postseason appearance in 1993. She served as the team’s head coach from 1987-93, amassing an overall record of 233-50, winning SAC Volleyball “Coach of the
Coaching Staff Year” awards on three occasions. Couture also served as an assistant director of athletics from 1993-2002. Couture spent two seasons as an assistant at Presbyterian from 1987-89, arriving after three years at the helm of Dixie High School in Due West, S.C., where she posted a 49-28 record. Couture’s commitment to academics has also been at the forefront of her career, as 25 of her student-athletes were named to the SAC Academic Honor Roll during her tenure at Presbyterian. The trend has continued at Butler as nine of her 14 players earned recognition on the Butler Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll during the Fall, 2004 semester. A native of Greenville, S.C., Couture is a 1984 graduate of Erskine College where she was a four-time MVP selection in basketball for the Flying Fleet. A Kodak All-American honoree as a senior, Couture was inducted into the Erskine College Hall of Fame in December of 1989. She earned a bachelor’s of science degree in physical education from Erskine and went on to complete a master’s degree in the same field at Furman University in 1987.
Butler Recognitions Under Couture
Back-to-Back 20-win Seasons 2009 WNIT Second Round Three 1,000 point scorers Six All-Horizon League Selections Four Defensive All-Horizon League Selections Four All-Horizon League Newcomer Selections 2007 Miami Thanksgiving Tournament Champions 2004 Billiken Classic Champions Eleven Players With Academic Honors 14th-best NCAA Division I win improvement in 2003-04
Couture’s Collegiate Record 1989-90 Presbyterian 1990-91 Presbyterian 1991-92 Presbyterian 1992-93 Presbyterian 1993-94 Presbyterian 1994-95 Presbyterian 1995-96 Presbyterian 1996-97 Presbyterian 1997-98 Presbyterian 1998-99 Presbyterian 1999-2000 Presbyterian 2000-01 Presbyterian 2001-02 Presbyterian 2002-03 Butler 2003-04 Butler 2004-05 Butler 2005-06 Butler 2006-07 Butler 2007-08 Butler 2008-09 Butler Presbyterian (13 yrs.) Butler (7 yrs.) Overall (20 yrs.)
W 20 13 16 16 22 23 13 17 23 24 28 22 21 6 14 14 15 16 20 20 258 105 363
L 10 14 11 10 8 7 14 10 8 6 2 8 9 23 15 14 14 15 10 12 117 103 220
Pct. .667 .482 .593 .615 .733 .767 .482 .630 .742 .800 .933 .733 .700 .207 .483 .500 .517 .516 .667 .625 .688 .505 .623
Coach Couture Says... I decided to coach at Butler because: It is a great place with a family atmosphere. In 10 years, I see myself: At Butler winning championships! What is one thing that most people don’t know about you? I have a 16 year old dog named Jordan. What has been your most memorable moment at Butler? The 13-hour plane ride to Alaska. Favorite movie? Hoosiers. Favorite food? Lean Pockets. Favorite book? Good to Great. If I played another sport, I would play: Golf. If I were stranded on an island, I would need these 3 things: Golf clubs, running shoes, pizza. My favorite basketball team growing up was: Boston Celtics.
2009-10 Butler Basketball • 17
Coaching Staff Amy
Cherubini
• Assistant Coach • 4th season at Butler • 10th season as a collegiate coach • Indiana ‘94
Amy Cherubini, a former standout player at Indiana University, enters her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Butler women’s basketball team. Cherubini brings coaching experience to the Bulldogs from three universities in addition to the professional and high school levels. In Cherubini’s three seasons at BU, the Bulldogs are 56-37 and have made the second round of the WNIT. Prior to arriving at Butler at the start of the 2006-07 season, Cherubini spent two years as the top assistant at the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds advanced to the second round of the Division II NCAA Tournament during the 2004-05 campaign and were ranked as high as fifth in the Great Lakes Region. While at Indianapolis, Cherubini was involved in all aspects of the program, but focused on recruiting, opponent scouting, coordinating team defense and monitoring student-athletes’ academic progress. She arrived at Indianapolis after posting a 49-21 record in three seasons as the head varsity coach at Indianapolis Pike High School, leading the team to sectional titles in 2002 and 2004. The team was ranked third in the state and ninth in the Midwest by USA Today during the 2002-03 season. In 2003, Cherubini coached the Jermaine O’Neal County All-Star Team. Prior to that, Cherubini served as an assistant at Saint Louis University for three years from 1998-2001. Her primary responsibilities included working with the team’s backcourt players, recruiting and scouting. Cherubini spent two seasons with the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League (ABL). During her first year, she served as an assistant coach, before moving into the lineup as a player-coach in 1997-98. Before her ABL tenure, Cherubini was an assistant coach at Michigan for the 1995-96 season.
Coach Cherubini Says... The best thing about living in Indianapolis: Clean city with lots of things to do. Great restaurants and sports. The best road trip: Miami. My favorite place on Butler’s campus is: Hinkle Fieldhouse. In 10 years, I see myself: In my Happy Place. Biggest win while at Butler: UIC in the semifinals of the conference tournament. If I were stranded on an island, I would need these 3 things: Lip Lube sunblock, Sugarland CD, Mexican food. If I played another sport, I would: Be on a ski team. I love being outside and in the water.
As a player, Cherubini competed for Indiana from 1988-92. She averaged 13.3 points as a senior in 1991-92 and was named the Chicago Tribune Big Ten Player of the Year. Cherubini set a school record (and then Big Ten mark) with 10 3pointers made in a game. She captained the Hoosiers as a senior. The Newark, Ohio, native earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from IU in 1994. She was inducted into the Utica (Ohio) High School Hall of Fame in 1999.
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My most memorable Christmas present was: Money Tree and diamond ear rings (tied). My favorite basketball team growing up was: Cleveland Cavs. If I had one wish: Health and happiness.
Coaching Staff Seph
Hatley
• Assistant Coach • 6th season at Butler • 12th season as a collegiate coach • Recruiting Coordinator • Pfeiffer ‘94
Seph Hatley enters his sixth season with the Butler women’s basketball team and his second year since returning to the program as its recruiting coordinator in May of 2008. Hatley coached at Butler from 20022006 before spending two years working at the NCAA Championships Department. Couture’s first coaching hire when she arrived at Butler in 2002, Hatley was instrumental in the program’s turnaround during Couture’s first four seasons.During his tenure, the team improved from a 3-26 record the season before his arrival to a 15-14 mark in his final year. Prior to his move to Indianapolis in 2002, Hatley had served as Couture’s top assistant in her final season at Presbyterian College in 2001-02, helping the team to a 21-9 record. Before joining Couture on the sidelines, he spent two seasons on the opposite bench as the head women’s basketball coach at Newberry College, a South Atlantic Conference foe of Presbyterian, from 1999 to 2001. In addition to his previous head coaching experience, Hatley served as assistant women’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Pfeiffer University, from 1996 to 1999. During that time, he also served as the head coach for cross country, assistant coach for softball and sports information director. Hatley earned his degree in sports management from Pfeiffer in 1994 after spending two years at Florida State, where he earned an Associate of Arts degree in 1992. He and his wife, Candace, have a daughter, Teagan. The Hatleys reside in Indianapolis.
Coach Hatley Says... I came to coach at Butler because: I like working with Coach Couture. If I were stranded on an island, I would need these 3 things: My ipod, my wife and my daughter. The best road trip: Thanksgiving tournament in San Francisco. One thing people don’t know about me: I am an avid cyclist with seven bikes. My favorite place on Butler’s campus is: Hinkle Fieldhouse. In 10 years, I see myself: As a retired lottery winner. Biggest win at Butler: Nov. 28, 2003 win over UTChattanooga, giving them one of the two losses they had all year. One things people don’t know about me is: I design and build furniture out of 2x4’s. Besides basketball, I’m talented at: Disc golf. If I could have dinner with one person: My father. The person I cherish the most: My daughter.
2009-10 Butler Basketball • 19
Coaching Staff Angel
Mason
• Assistant Coach • 2nd season at Butler • 4th season as a collegiate coach • Four-year letterwinner with the Bulldogs • Butler ‘04
Angel Mason, a former member of the Butler women’s basketball team, begins her second season as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs this season. In Mason’s first season back on the BU campus, she helped lead the Bulldogs to the second round of the WNIT. Mason returns to Butler after spending the 2007-08 season as the head women’s basketball coach and assistant director of athletics for operations at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Before accepting the head coaching position at Vassar in June of 2007, Mason served as director of sports services at the Northeast Conference during the 2006-07 season, where she was responsible for championship and regular season sport administration and served as the primary liaison to the league’s senior woman administrators. Prior to joining the NEC, Mason spent a year at Vassar as an assistant women’s basketball coach and the athletic operations manager, a position she earned as recipient of the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship. She assisted in sport administration for the school’s 25 sports while working with budgeting, facilities, compliance, scheduling, marketing and intramurals. In addition, she chaired the Department Diversity Committee, which developed a five-year strategic plan for the athletic program. Mason had served as a marketing and promotions intern at Emmis Communications in Indianapolis and spent a year as a communications intern at the Horizon League before joining Vassar. She also played and coached professionally in Iceland during the 2004-05 season. A four-year letterwinner on the Butler women’s basketball team, Mason was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team in 2004 after finishing eighth in the league in steals and 16th in rebounding.
Coach Mason Says... I came to coach at Butler because: It’s my alma mater and I thought it’d be great to come back. The best road trip: California. The best part about being a player at BU was: Adding a bunch of sisters to my family. If I were stranded on an island I would need these 3 things: My grandma, sweet tea, some baked mac & cheese. My most memorable Christmas present was: My first viola and poetry books. My favorite place on Butler’s campus is: The clock tower. The best player I’ve ever played against: Diana Taurasi. She started in 25 games as a senior and finished third on the team in scoring and rebounding. Mason served on Butler’s StudentAthlete Advisory Committee and was a student representative on the Horizon League Basketball Issues Committee for two years. She graduated from Butler in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Studies, and earned her Master’s Degree in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania.
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If I could have dinner with one person: My father. If I played another sport, I would: Run track because I’m really good at it. The one thing I cherish most: My family. My favorite basketball team growing up was: Chicago Bulls.
Basketball Support Staff Cindy
Meghan
Women’s Basketball Secretary
Associate Athletic Trainer
Butts
Cindy Butts is in her 12th season as the secretary for the women’s basketball department. She assists the coaching staff with the day-to-day activities of the office. Prior to working at Butler, Butts served as a technology assistant with the Wayne Township school district for eight years. Butts, who graduated from nearby Speedway High School, earned her degree in business marketing from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband, David. The couple has two children, a daughter Audra, 26, and son, Kyle, 24.
Jim
Peal
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
partenheimer
Meghan Partenheimer is in her 2nd season with the Bulldogs as an Associate Athletic Trainer. She is the primary athletic trainer for women’s basketball, cross country and track and field and serves as an assistant for football. Partenheimer returns to Butler where she received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training and physical education in 2000 while playing for the Bulldogs’ women’s soccer team. After graduating from Butler, she spent seven years as the Head Athletic Trainer at Franklin Central High School. In addition to her undergraduate degree earned at Butler, Partenheimer received her master’s degree in exercise science from IUPUI in 2008. Partenheimer has been certified as an Athletic Trainer by the National Athletic Trainers Association since 2001.
Josh
rattray
Assistant Sports Information Director Jim Peal is in his 7th season at Butler and his 5th as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. He is in charge of coordinating and overseeing the strength, flexibility and conditioning programs for all 19 sports at Butler. Peal arrived at Butler in 2003 after serving as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University at Buffalo for two and a half years. Peal spent 11 seasons from 1988-1999 as the head strength and conditioning coach at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., where he oversaw all strength, conditioning and flexibility programs. In 1995, he was named the Southern Conference Strength Coach of the Year and was a nominee for the National Strength Coach honors. He also served as the National Strength and Conditioning Association State Director for South Carolina from 1995 to 1999. Before arriving at The Citadel, Peal was the assistant strength coach at Kansas State and graduate strength coach at Tennessee. He was also a graduate coach for the Evansville football team in 1984. A four-year member of the Miami (Ohio) University football team, Peal earned a B.S. in physical education and a minor in health education and recreation from Miami in 1983. He received his M.S. in physical education with an emphasis in sport psychology from Tennessee three years later. Peal has been an NSCA Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist since 1985.
Josh Rattray is in his first season as Assistant Sports Information Director at Butler. He is the primary sports information contact for women’s basketball, volleyball, women’s soccer, baseball, women’s swimming and men’s and women’s tennis. Rattray joined the Bulldog staff after spending a year at the Horizon League office in downtown Indianapolis. While at the league office, he was a member of the communications staff and worked closely with the Horizon League Network. Prior to his stint at the Horizon League, Rattray served fulltime internships at Michigan State (2007-08) and Cleveland State (2006-07). At Michigan State, he was the primary contact for men’s and women’s soccer, swimming and baseball. He also helped the athletic communications staff lead the nation in podcast downloads and worked closely with the nationally-ranked men’s basketball team. Rattray is no stranger to Butler women’s basketball, having been the program’s radio play-by-play voice for four seasons. He also was a scrimmage practice player with the team for three seasons. Rattray earned a B.A. in Media Arts from Butler in 2006 with minors in Business Administration and Public Relations.
2009-10 Butler Basketball • 21
Athletics Staff and Services Athletic Department Support Staff
Barry Collier Director of Athletics
Tom Crowley Associate AD for Internal Operations
Sonya Hopkins Matt Harris Coordinator of Manager of Fan Academic Support Development
Jim McGrath Associate AD for Communications
Mike Freeman Associate AD for External Operations
Beth Goetz Associate AD for Administration/SWA
Lindsay Martin Stephanie Martin Kyle Smith Manager of Assistant Director Athletic Business Sports Marketing of the Bulldog Club Manager
Carl Heck Assistant AD for Facilities and Events
Julie Porep Secretary to the Athletic Director
Chris Pierle Supervisor of Fieldhouse Operations
Joe Gentry Director of Corporate Sponsorships
John Harding Equipment Manager
Ryan Galloy Head Athletic Trainer
Jennifer Johnson Equipment Manager
Academic Support
Balancing the demands of NCAA Division I athletics with the responsibilities of a rigorous academic schedule is one of the biggest challenges facing collegiate student-athletes. To help ease that challenge Butler provides a dedicated academic support system. The Athletic Academic Support Offices are located in Hinkle Fieldhouse, where coordinator Sonya Hopkins and staff are available to assist student-athletes in solving academic and nonacademic problems. Butler offers its student-athletes academic and career counseling, guidance in study skills and time management, and academic tutoring. The academic staff monitors each student-athlete’s progress toward Butler’s degree requirements. Support services for student-athletes are provided on a by-need or by-student/coach request basis. Butler teams and student-athletes have won numerous league and national academic awards.
Strength & Conditioning
Butler athletes benefit from an extensive strength and conditioning program under the direction of Strength and Conditioning Coach Jim Peal. The purpose of Butler’s strength training program is twofold. One is to reduce the risk of injury and the second is to increase performance potential. By increasing the strength of each athlete’s muscles, bones and connective tissues, the chance of incurring an injury while performing lessens. The increase in functional strength is also an important step toward reaching the athlete’s athletic potential. The strength and conditioning program stresses flexibility, agility, jumping skills, speed and reaction time, as well as strength. The program utilizes free weights, strength machinery, manual resistance and additional innovative techniques to help maximize the chance for Butler athletes to succeed. The center of Butler’s strength and conditioning program is the 4,000-square foot weight training room located in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The weight room, which features an entire outside wall of glass, is stocked with free weights, weight machines, stationary bikes, stairmasters, and related apparatus, and allows Butler athletes to train in an open and comfortable environment.
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Sports Medicine
Butler student-athletes have access to a comprehensive sports medicine program that focuses on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of athletic-related injuries. Under the supervision of Head Athletic Trainer Ryan Galloy, Butler’s athletes are served by an extensive team of physicians, health care professionals and certified athletic trainers. The Bulldogs’ training room is located on the west end of Hinkle Fieldhouse, immediately behind the women’s basketball office. The training room is divided into four areas - rehabilitation and injury management, athlete preparation, administration and storage - and is fully equipped to provide thorough rehabilitation. Butler’s athletic training staff provides care for Butler student-athletes at practices and games, while also maintaining daily hours for treatment and rehabilitation. The staff also works to educate Butler’s student-athletes in the areas of injury prevention, nutrition and various wellness issues. Butler’s sports medicine program utilizes the extensive medical community in Indianapolis, which boasts one of the largest and most knowledgeable groups of sports medicine professionals in the nation. Butler student-athletes have access in Indianapolis to world-renowned medical facilities, as well as many of the leading physicians in the world of sports medicine.
The players 2009-10 Butler Basketball 2009-10 Butler Basketball • 23