Butler vs. Notre Dame
Exhibition
Friday, Oct. 17 • 7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, Ind.
 
TV/Stream: None
Radio/Audio: Fuego 92.7FM, Butler Sports App & ButlerSports.com • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
The Series (Even though this exhibition won't count toward the series record): Notre Dame Leads, 72-31
Last Meeting: March 21, 2015
First Meeting: Jan. 27, 1909
 
Matta of Facts
• This is the front end of a home-and-home exhibition agreement between the Bulldogs and Notre Dame as Butler will travel to South Bend for an exhibition during the 2026-27 season.
• Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry spent four seasons (2007-11) as a member of Butler's coaching staff, including the program's runs to both the 2010 and 2011 national championship games.
• Shrewsberry's son Braeden is a member of the Notre Dame roster as is Brady Stevens, the son of former Butler coach Brad Stevens.
• Butler's roster includes 11 newcomers in addition to Jamie Kaiser, Jr., who missed all of last season due to an ankle injury.
• Junior Finley Bizjack returns for the Bulldogs after starting 30 games a season ago; sophomore Evan Haywood started the final two games of the 2024-25 season.
• Bizjack scored a career-best 30 points in Butler's season finale, a loss to Boise State in the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. Bizjack went a career-high 6-for-9 from three-point range in that game.
• Bizjack joins newcomers Jalen Jackson, Michael Ajayi, Drayton Jones, and Yame Butler as players on this season's Butler roster who have each scored 30 or more points in at least one game of their respective collegiate careers.
• Four of Butler's newcomers have earned all-conference first team honors at a previous institution: Jackson (Purdue Fort Wayne; 2024-25 Horizon League), Ajayi (Pepperdine; 2023-24 West Coast Conference), Jones (South Carolina State; 2024-25 MEAC), and Yohan Traore (UC Santa Barbara; 2023-24 Big West).
• Butler returns only 15.3 percent of its scoring from a season ago (400 of their 2,616 points during the 2024-25 season). Bizjack accounts for 350 of those 400 returning points.
• Haywood's first two career starts came in the team's two games at the 2025 College Basketball Crown. He scored 23 of his 48 points on the season in those two games.
• Thirty-one (31) BIG EAST players averaged double figures in scoring last season; Bizjack is one of only seven who return for the 2025-26 season -- Zuby Ejiofor (SJU), Solo Ball and Alex Karaban (UConn), Malik Mack (Georgetown), CJ Gunn (DePaul), and Chase Ross (Marquette).
• Thad Matta has averaged 24.3 wins per season and has won 70.1 percent of his games as a head coach in his 20 seasons on the bench.
• Butler's five-member freshman class -- Jackson Keith, Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, Jack McCaffery, Azavier "Stink" Robinson, and Bryson Cardinal was ranked No. 25 nationally by ESPN. Both McCaffery and Robinson were included among ESPN's Top 100 prospects in the class.
• Butler was 14-5 when leading at halftime last season (and 1-14 when trailing after 20 minutes).
• Butler was 10-1 when scoring 80 or more points last season with the only loss coming in the season finale (100-93 to Boise State in the College Basketball Crown quarterfinals).
• Butler's entire coaching staff returns from last season.
• Butler committed an average of only 13.6 fouls per game last season, the 13th-fewest total among teams nationally.
• A point of emphasis this season will be forcing more turnovers as Butler opponents turned the ball over only 7.74 times per game on average last season, a mark that was 354th nationally.
• Butler committed only one turnover in the regular season finale at Creighton March 8. Villanova also had only a single turnover in their Dec. 21 game at Creighton. Prior to the two occurrences this season, the last BIG EAST team to have only one turnover in a game was Louisville, which had one turnover Feb. 7, 2007 against Georgetown (Rick Pitino was the coach of that Louisville team).
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the 2024 Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
Notes on the Butler-Notre Dame Series
 
• Butler and Notre Dame have played 103 times previously in the regular season and postseason.
• The teams have not met since March 21, 2015 when Notre Dame posted a 67-64 overtime win in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
• The teams have not played on campus since Feb. 15, 1995, which was a 76-60 Butler win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• The first game played at Hinkle Fieldhouse featured Butler hosting Notre Dame March 7, 1928 (a 21-13 overtime win by the Bulldogs).
• Tony Hinkle's final game as the head coach at Butler came against Notre Dame at Hinkle Fieldhouse Feb. 23, 1970 as a sold-out crowd of 15,000 fans were on hand. Austin Carr scored 50 points for the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame's 121-114 win.
• Butler and Notre Dame first met Jan. 27, 1909.
• The only other meeting between the 1995 game at Hinkle and the 2015 NCAA Tournament game was a neutral-site contest as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off (Preseason NIT) at (then) Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis Nov. 13, 2006. Butler won that match-up, 71-69.
 
Bulldog Legend Gordon Hayward Named Executive Basketball Advisor for Butler Men's Basketball
 
Butler Athletics Hall of Famer and 14-year NBA standout Gordon Hayward will provide additional leadership within the Bulldog men's basketball program in the role of Executive Basketball Advisor.
 
Hayward will volunteer his time in the newly-created position, working alongside head coach Thad Matta, General Manager/Director of Player Personnel Tony Bollier, and Vice President/Director of Athletics Grant Leiendecker on the program's highest-level initiatives. Hayward will lean on his NBA experience to advise on talent evaluation and recruitment, player development, and team culture. He will serve in a mentorship role to student-athletes within the program, focusing on leadership and professional development.
 
Hayward, who was inducted into the Butler Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022, retired from the NBA in 2024 after a successful 14-year career. Drafted by the Utah Jazz with the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft after leading Butler to the national championship game, Hayward would average 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his professional career. He was an All-Star in 2017 with Utah before signing with the Boston Celtics and his former Butler coach Brad Stevens as a free agent that summer. Following his seven seasons in Utah, he spent three seasons in Boston, three full seasons in Charlotte, and split his final 2023-24 season between Charlotte and Oklahoma City.
 
Hayward starred at Butler for two seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10) before starting his successful NBA career. Hayward was selected as the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA West Regional in 2010, leading the Bulldogs to the program's first Final Four appearance. At the Final Four, he was chosen as a member of the All-Tournament Team. He earned All-Horizon League first-team honors in each of his two seasons and was the 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year. In just two seasons, he scored 992 points and had 512 rebounds. Hayward earned Academic All-America third-team honors in 2009-10.
 
Butler University Upgrades Iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse with Dynamic LED Video
 
Technology consultant Anthony James Partners (AJP) provided design, procurement, and construction administration services for the upgrades, supporting Butler in selecting SNA Displays to manufacture and install more than 2,700 square feet of LED video display technology, including a center hung display system, baseline LED ribbons, multiple courtside tables, and other digital signage.
 
The centerpiece of the project is a new LED center hung display consisting of four curved, 14-foot-tall video screens seamlessly connected to create a continuous 360-degree video surface. Each side features a 4 mm pixel pitch for increased pixel density and clarity. The center hung also includes custom static lettering along the top ring of the structure and a team-branded Bulldog logo facing downward toward the playing surface.
 
Other video signage includes 3-foot-high LED ribbons along the second-level fascia at both ends of the Fieldhouse, two 19-foot-long vomitory displays between the second and third levels, and eight new courtside mobile scorer's tables equipped with LED screens. For recruitment and training purposes, the project also features two new ASPECT™ all-in-one 16:9 video screens from SNA Displays in an adjacent practice facility, directly integrated into the new control management system.
 
Butler and North Carolina Agree to Home-and-Home Series Beginning in 2026-27
 
Butler and North Carolina have agreed to a men's basketball home-and-home series that will feature games during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
 
The teams will play in Chapel Hill in either November or December of 2026 before the Bulldogs host the Tar Heels at Hinkle Fieldhouse in either November or December of 2027.
 
The two programs have split six previous meetings. The teams first met during the 1928-29 season with Butler winning 43-20 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler posted wins at both the 2012 Maui Invitational and the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis. The most recent tip between the two teams came in the Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. UNC posted a 92-80 win in Memphis, Tenn.
 
Butler Athletics and Nike Extend Long-Standing Partnership
 
Butler Athletics and Nike have announced a multi-year contract extension that will continue to provide Bulldog student-athletes with industry-leading apparel and equipment.
 
"Nike continues to be one of the most iconic brands in all of sports, and Butler is proud to continue our long-standing partnership," said Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics Grant Leiendecker. "Attaching Butler Athletics to the industry leader in apparel and equipment continues an incredible experience for our student-athletes and loyal fans. We are excited to work with Nike and BSN Sports for years to come."
 
As part of the multi-year agreement, Nike will continue to serve as the official apparel provider for Butler Athletics, outfitting all teams with high-quality performance gear and team uniforms. BSN SPORTS, a leading distributor of sporting goods apparel and equipment, will facilitate a portion of the partnership.
 
Butler's partnership with Nike dates back to the 1990s with the Bulldog Basketball programs, while the department-wide relationship began in 2007.
 
Butler fans are able to continue to purchase officially licensed Butler Nike apparel as part of the agreement.