Butler Coach Brad Stevens Agrees To New 12-Year Contract

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler University, coming off the most successful men’s basketball season in school history, has rewarded head basketball coach Brad Stevens with a new contract.  The 12-year deal signed by Stevens extends the coach’s contract through the 2021-22 season.

“We are extremely pleased and excited to announce that we’ve reached a new long-term agreement with Brad, and that he will continue to lead the Butler University men’s basketball program,” stated Butler Director of Athletics Barry Collier.

“Brad has demonstrated that he’s the right fit for Butler University, and that he embraces and teaches The Butler Way.  Our program has grown under his leadership, and we’re excited about our future under his direction.”

Stevens, 33, completed his third season at Butler in the championship game of 2010 NCAA Tournament on Monday (April 5).  The national runner-up Bulldogs finished the season with a school-record 33 wins, against just five setbacks, and became the first school in Horizon League history to reach the NCAA Final Four.   Butler’s march to the West Regional championship in the NCAA Tournament included victories over top-seeded Syracuse, 63-59, and second-seeded Kansas State, 63-56.  Butler defeated Michigan State, 52-50, in the national semifinals.

“(My wife) Tracy and I are thrilled and very thankful for the opportunity to continue to play a role for Butler University,” stated Stevens.  “We are already looking forward to the 2010-11 season.”

The Bulldogs, who won Horizon League regular season and tournament championships, were the only unbeaten (18-0) conference champion in the nation this season.  Stevens guided Butler to a 25-game winning streak, the nation’s longest, and to an unbeaten record in 2010 prior to the national championship game.  Butler was ranked in the “Top 25” of the ESPN/USA Today national poll every week during the season and finished No. 2 in the final coaches’ poll.

Stevens was named Horizon League Coach of the Year for the second straight year, and he was named NABC All-District 12 Coach.  He’s won more games (89) in three seasons than any other coach in NCAA Division I history, and he owns the No. 1 (33 in 2009-10) and No. 2 (30 in 2007-08) single season win totals in Butler men’s basketball history.  He’s the only coach in the history of the Horizon League to record 30 wins in a season, and he’s done it twice!  Only four coaches in NCAA history own a better winning percentage after three seasons than Stevens’ 89-15 (.856) mark.