October 25, 2007

The Athletic Director's Corner

Oct. 25, 2007

Past Editions

Edition 1 (July 3, 2007)

Edition 2 (August 27, 2007)

Putting the STUDENT in student-athlete...

We are so grateful for the focus and accomplishments of our student-athletes. The Butler tradition of "Academics First" continues. Congratulations to our coaches as well, for their successful recruiting efforts in bringing this talented group of Bulldogs to campus.

Graduation Success Rate
Did you see the outstanding numbers that our teams posted in the most recent academic report released by the NCAA? Butler led (or shared the lead) in the Horizon League in GSR for 10 of 13 sports (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track are counted as one sport). The Bulldogs had a 100% GSR for nine different sports, and every Butler sport exceeded the NCAA stated goal of 80%!

Grade Point Average
Our 261 returning student-athletes enter the 2007-08 school year with a cumulative 3.15 grade point average!

Honor Roll
170 Butler student-athletes were named to Horizon League Commissioner's honor roll for their 3.25 g.p.a. in the spring or fall semester or cumulative!

Student-Athletes by Major

148 in the College Liberal Arts and Sciences

131 in the College of Business Administration

51 in the College of Education

35 in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

15 in the Jordan College of Fine Arts

Great start on the fields and courts...
To date, each of our 6 fall sports teams have posted an improved record compared to one year ago. Football, Women's Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer and Volleyball are in the final weeks of their seasons and each has competed impressively. Stay tuned for some exciting finishes.

Wow! Our Bulldogs are making it tough to be a humble Butler fanatic!

Jim McGrath...
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Jim McGrath (associate athletic director for communications) for receiving the All-American Football Foundation's Scoop Hudgins Outstanding SID award. The 200 collegiate members of the AAFF honor the nation's best sports information directors. Jim is a highly dedicated and professional member of Butler Athletics and has served the Bulldogs for 27 years. Congratulations Jim!!!

Butlersports.com
The official Butler athletics website saw a banner year in 06-07:

57% increase in "Unique Visitors" to ButlerSports.com

3,420,362 page views to ButlerSports.com

Jim McGrath and assistant sports information director Chris Urban are doing a great job with supplying our sports news to this website!

As the fall seasons wind down, I am reminded of a document that a coaching friend sent me a few years ago. I shared this with our teams and I'm confident that it provides a valuable lesson to all.

"THINGS I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN EARLIER AS A PLAYER..."

THAT IT CAN TAKE AN ENTIRE SEASON TO BUILD A "TEAM" AND ONE INCIDENT TO DESTROY THE CHEMISTRY THAT WAS BUILT

THAT THE "TEAM" IS NOT THE COACHES' TEAM, IT'S OUR (ALL) TEAM

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A SENIOR (THE SACRIFICE FOR THE TEAM)

HOW MUCH TIME THE COACHING STAFF PUTS IN TRYING TO PREPARE THE TEAM FOR LIFE, PRACTICES AND GAMES

HOW MUCH TIME THE COACHING STAFF SPENDS THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR THE TEAM

YOUR TEAM IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE LAST PLAYER TO BUY IN (WEAKEST LINK) - YOU HAVE A "TRUE" TEAM ONLY WHEN EVERY LAST PLAYER HAS BOUGHT IN

WHEN YOU WIN WITH A "TEAM", THE VICTORY TASTES MUCH SWEETER

TEAM CHEMISTRY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE GAME - WITHOUT IT CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE HARD TO COME BY

HOW YOU PLAY IN PRACTICE ULTIMATELY AFFECTS YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE GAME

IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST PLAYER, YOU HAVE TO BE THE HARDEST WORKER

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE IF YOU ARE NOT MENTALLY TOUGH

THAT YOU WIN GAMES BY PREPARING PROPERLY IN PRACTICE AND NOT JUST LACING UP THE SNEAKERS ON GAME NIGHT

IT'S HARD AS A COACH TO SIT A PLAYER WHO MAKES HUSTLE PLAYS CONSISTENTLY AND WORKS HARD IN PRACTICE

COMMUNICATION IS A MUST TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON AND OFF THE COURT

I HAVE A BETTER CHANCE TO PLAY IF I AM A GREAT TEAM DEFENDER

THE SOONER I REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING STARTS WITH DEFENSE THE BETTER I WILL BE ABLE TO PREPARE MYSELF FOR THE PRACTICES AND GAMES

A GOOD TEAM DEFENSE IS BUILT WITH THE FOUNDATION OF TRUST

HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO PREPARE MENTALLY FOR THE SECOND NIGHT OF PLAY IN CONFERENCE FRIDAY / SATURDAY GAMES - AFTER LOSES, MORE SO WINS

IT'S NOT WHO STARTS THE GAME, IT'S WHO FINISHES THE GAME - BE A FINISHER

YOU HAVE TO HAVE A GREAT SECOND HALF WARM-UP PHYSICALLY TO GET YOURSELF READY MENTALLY (PERCEIVED ABILITY THAT WE ARE READY TO GO)

THAT YOU CAN CONTROL TWO THINGS IN LIFE: 1. ATTITUDE 2. EFFORT - AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, POSITIVE WORDS AND ACTIONS CREATE POSITIVE REACTIONS

Barry

The Butler Way... demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality, yet seeks constant improvement while promoting the good of the team above self.

View: Mobile | Desktop

Butler.edu Mobile Site