Michael Lewis, who spent six seasons on the basketball staff at Eastern Illinois University, was named an assistant men’s basketball coach at Butler University in May of 2011. 

Lewis, a prep standout in Indiana and former Indiana University player, was named one of the “Top 5” assistant coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference by FoxSports.com in 2010.  He was responsible for recruiting several top players to Eastern Illinois, including 2009-10 All-OVC players Tyler Laser and James Hollowell.  He helped the Panthers to a 19-12 mark in 2009-10, the third-highest win total since Eastern Illinois became a Division I program.  

Lewis left Eastern Illinois to join the staff of new head coach Porter Moser at Loyola, before accepting the position at Butler.  He also served as an assistant coach for one season (2004-05) at Stephen F. Austin and for two seasons as a graduate assistant under Coach Bob Knight at Texas Tech.

“Growing up in Indiana and playing high school and college basketball here, you understand how important basketball is to this state, and I’m excited to be a part of that at Butler,” Lewis said.

A talented backcourt player, Lewis had a successful undergraduate career at Indiana, 1997-2000.  He was a team captain and earned third team All-Big Ten honors as a senior, and he was named MVP of the 1999 Hoosier Classic.  He was named to the Big Ten All-Star Team that toured Europe in 1997, and he finished his collegiate career as Indiana’s all-time leader in assists with 545.  In 2012, Lewis was picked No. 46 on a list of the Top 50 players all-time at Indiana compiled by the Indianapolis Star.

Following his graduation from Indiana in 2000, he played professional basketball for the Fort Wayne Fury in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 2001 and for the Florida Seadragons of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 2000 and 2001.  He was a USBL All-Star in 2000.  Lewis also played briefly in Belgium.

Lewis had an outstanding high school career at Jasper High School in Indiana, and he finished his prep playing days in 13th place on Indiana’s all-time high school scoring list with 2,138 career point.  The 1996 Jasper graduate was named to the Indiana All-Star Team following a senior season that saw him named the Gatorade Player of the Year.   

The Bulldog assistant coach earned a master’s degree from Texas Tech in 2004.  He and his wife, Nichole, have two daughters, Avery and Emma.