Gridiron Classic Causes Butler Schedule Adjustments

Butler fans will be treated to a smorgasbord of Bulldogs’ athletics on Saturday, Dec. 5.  The addition of the 2009 Gridiron Classic, pitting Pioneer Football League champion Butler against Northeast Conference champion Central Connecticut State, has set the stage for a Butler triple-header, featuring football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball.

The day-long athletics extravaganza will start with the football game at 12 noon (ET) at the Butler Bowl.  The Butler women’s basketball game against Miami (Ohio) has been moved up two an a half hours and will now begin at 2 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  The day will conclude with the Butler men’s basketball game pitting the Bulldogs against Horizon League foe Valparaiso at 7 p.m.  The Butler-Valparaiso contest was originally scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot will open for the football and women’s basketball games at 8 a.m.  The charge is $8 for a standard vehicle and $20 for an RV.  Following the football game, the lot will be cleared by 5 p.m. for the men’s basketball game.

The Gridiron Classic, now in its fourth year, will be Butler’s first postseason football game since 1991 and the first-ever at the Butler Bowl.  Tickets for the Bowl game are $12 for adult general admission and $8 for youth (ages 3-12).  Butler and Central Connecticut State students can purchase a ticket with a student I.D. for $2.

Butler's women’s basketball team will be playing just its third home game of the season and just the second after returning from the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic.  Butler’s men, ranked in the “Top 15” in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls, will be returning to Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time since defeating Davidson in the season-opener on Nov. 14.