The Butler Way

"The Butler Way" Memorial outside Hinkle Fieldhouse, with the bust of Tony Hinkle

The Butler Way is a term used since the 2006-2007 men's NCAA college basketball season by broadcasters and sportswriters nationwide to describe the governing philosophy of the Butler Bulldogs, one of the most successful former mid-major programs.^[1] [1] [2] The Butler Way demands commitment, denies selfishness and accepts reality, yet seeks constant improvement while promoting the good of the team above self.

History of the term

The Butler Way was originally forged by Butler University's legendary coach and administrator Tony Hinkle.^[2]

Butler Bulldogs' Athletic Director Barry Collier^[3] is often credited with resurrecting the term and its underlying attitude during his time as the Butler University Men's Basketball coach from 1989 through 2000.^[4]^[5]

The five principles

The Butler Way has become closely associated with the five principles of Butler Basketball. The five principles as posted in the Men's Basketball locker-room are as follows:

Humility - know who we are, strengths and weaknesses
Passion - do not be lukewarm, commit to excellence
Unity - do not divide our house, team first
Servanthood - make teammates better, lead by giving
Thankfulness - learn from every circumstance

References

^ See, e.g., "'Butler Way' includes sense of urgency," David Woods, USA Today (Updated 2/15/2007 1:11 PM ET).
^ "A Message From The AD," Barry Collier (`76), Director of Athletics (ButlerSports.com 2007).
^ "Barry Collier Bio"
^ "There's no 'I' in Butler," Archived 2007-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Matt Gonzales, INtake Weekly Magazine (Updated 3/1/2007).
^ 2007 Indiana newspaper article Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine

[1] See, e.g., "'Butler Way' includes sense of urgency," David Woods, USA Today (Updated 2/15/2007 1:11 PM ET).

[2] "A Message From The AD," Barry Collier (`76), Director of Athletics (ButlerSports.com 2007).

[3] "Barry Collier Bio"

[4] "There's no 'I' in Butler," Archived 2007-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Matt Gonzales, INtake Weekly Magazine (Updated 3/1/2007).

[5] 2007 Indiana newspaper article Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Butler University
Academics	College of Liberal Arts and Sciences College of Communication Andre B. Lacy School of Business College of Education College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Jordan College of the Arts Graduate Studies
Athletics	Baseball Softball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Men's soccer Women's soccer The Butler War Song Big East Conference Pioneer Football League Butler Blue IV The Butler Way
Athletic facilities	Hinkle Fieldhouse Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl Bulldog Park Butler Softball Field
People	Alumni Athletic Directors Coaches Faculty Presidents Robert Judson Aley Allen R. Benton James Danko Bobby Fong Ovid Butler
Structures	Butler University Buildings Irwin Library Clowes Memorial Hall Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall Persephone
Student life	WDTI
History	Irvington Neighborhood Teachers College of Indianapolis

v t e Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	Butler Fieldhouse (1928–1966) Hinkle Fieldhouse (1966–present)
Culture & lore	The Butler Way Crossroads Classic Dawg Pound Butler Blue
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

History of the term

The five principles

See also

References