March 3, 2004
On the eve of her team's Horizon League tournament quarterfinal game, Butler extended the contract of women's basketball coach Beth Couture through the 2007-08 season. Athletic director John Parry made the announcement Wednesday.
"Beth has earned the support and respect of her players, athletic department and the Indiana basketball community," said Parry. "All of us are looking forward to future Butler success in women's basketball."
In just her second season, Couture has brought the Butler women's basketball program from the depths of the Horizon League standings to a legitimate contender for this season's league crown. Couture has instilled a winning attitude in the Bulldogs, who have shown increased confidence and improvement in winning eight of their last 11 games entering Thursday's quarterfinal at Cleveland State.
"I'm extremely grateful to John Parry and (senior associate athletic director) Carol Reep for the confidence they've shown in me and my staff by extending our contract through 2008," said Couture, who boasts a 277-154 (.643) career record entering postseason play. "I am very happy at Butler and excited about the future growth of our basketball program."
For the second time in her two seasons in Indianapolis, Couture has at least doubled the team's win total from the previous season. Despite the loss of starting senior guard Lisa Pryor to a knee injury early in the season, Couture led the team to its first league winning record (9-7) since 1998-99. The Bulldogs went 6-23 in Couture's first season after winning just three games in 2001-02 under Wendy Gaither. Couture came to Butler in June, 2002, after spending 13 seasons on the Presbyterian College (S.C.) sidelines.
"We're really excited about the direction of our women's basketball program," said Reep, who is also Butler's senior women's administrator. "This is the right time to extend Beth's contract and show our commitment to her and her staff. We hope to have Beth here as our coach for a long time."
Butler finished the regular season with a 9-7 league record, tying Cleveland State for fourth in the league standings, in addition to a 13-14 overall mark. The Bulldogs had been picked to finish tied for seventh in the league standings in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, media and sports information directors. Couture's Bulldogs were the last team to defeat Chattanooga, as the Lady Mocs have rattled off 23 consecutive wins since Butler's 79-73 win Nov. 28.
Three of Couture's players earned Horizon League postseason awards earlier this week. Senior Nancy Bowden was selected to the "All-Horizon League" first team and "All-Defensive Team." Senior Angel Mason joined Bowden for defensive honors, while freshman Ellen Hamilton, a member of Couture's first recruiting class, was recognized as part of the league's "All-Newcomer Team." In addition, eight of her players were named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the Fall, 2003 semester, achieving at least a 3.25 grade point average.
The Bulldogs, the league tournament's fifth seed due to a tiebreaker, travel to Cleveland to take on the Vikings in the quarterfinals of the league tournament. The teams square off Thursday at 7 p.m. with the game being broadcast live on www.butlersports.com.