Butler Captures Record Eighth McCafferty Trophy

For the second consecutive year and for a record-breaking eighth time overall, Butler has captured the James J. McCafferty Trophy as the Horizon League’s all-sports champion.  The Bulldogs further won both the men’s and women’s all-sports titles to make a clean sweep of the league’s annual competition awards.

Butler accumulated 59 total points, a six-year league high, to win the 2010-11 McCafferty Trophy.  The Bulldogs earned the Men’s All-Sports Award with 25 points and the Women’s All-Sports Award with 34 points.  Milwaukee finished runner-up in both the men’s and women’s competitions and came in second in the McCafferty Trophy standings with 50.5 points.

Cleveland State finished in third in the all-sports race with 39.5 points, followed by Wright State (28.5), Green Bay (28), UIC (25.5), Loyola (25), Youngstown State (17), Detroit (14) and Valparaiso (13).  Butler and Milwaukee each captured six league postseason championships, while Cleveland State, Green Bay and UIC each won two titles.  Wright State claimed the league’s remaining crown.

“This award is a reflection of the teamwork that has been displayed by all of our student-athletes and the dedicated effort of our coaches and staff”, said Butler Director of Athletics Barry Collier.  “We recognize the challenges presented in the Horizon League, and we salute our teams for their resolve and how well they have performed in winning the McCafferty Trophy for a second straight year.”

The McCafferty Trophy is awarded annually by the Horizon League to a member institution compiling the greatest number of performance points, based on their finish in the League’s 19 championship sports. For the sports of men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball, points are awarded based on combined regular-season (60 percent) and championship (40 percent) finishes. For all other sports, points are based on performance in the League championships. The award is named in honor of James J. McCafferty, who served as the conference’s first commissioner from 1979-80.

The Bulldogs jumped to an early lead in this year’s McCafferty Trophy race by winning season or tournament championships in all five fall league sports.  Butler captured both the regular season and tournament crowns in men’s soccer, tournament championships in volleyball, men’s cross country and women’s cross country and the regular season title in women’s soccer.  The Bulldogs added regular season and tournament championships in men’s basketball and a tournament crown in women’s golf.

The 59 points compiled by the 2010-11 Bulldogs matched Butler’s 1997-98 effort for the highest McCafferty Trophy point total in school history.  

Butler’s eight McCafferty Trophies are the most in Horizon League history.  Former members Notre Dame and Oral Roberts each won seven trophies, while Milwaukee has captured five.