Butler's Transition from Horizon to Big East: Analysis
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00:00The one that stood out to me was Butler because they've done it from the horizon to where
00:08they are now.
00:10And did you think it paid off for those schools like going up in weight?
00:16I don't think I mean, paid off in terms of financially, I'm sure they're making more
00:21money.
00:22I don't have any doubt about that.
00:24But Davidson, which was facing the likelihood that Bob McKillop, the great Bob McKillop
00:30would retire relatively soon after they change leagues from the Southern Conference, where
00:36they were the they weren't they didn't get every single bid every single year out of
00:41the Southern Conference in the way that the Zags do in the WCC.
00:45But they got a lot of them.
00:47And since he moved to the Atlantic 10, it's been leaner, they have they have had some
00:51success, but it's been leaner.
00:53And now Bob has retired and his son Matt has taken over and is trying to build the
00:58program back.
00:59And it's a it's a tougher slog in the in the A-10, it's the A-10 is the best one big league
01:04in college basketball.
01:05I'm not sure I want to be in the best one big league in college basketball.
01:08I want to be in the lesser one, because if I if I'm great, I'm going to get that one
01:12bid if I'm in the A-10 and I'm great, three or four other teams that could beat me and
01:17take that bid.
01:18So I don't know that it's been terrific for them.
01:21For Butler, we have seen a relative decline in their performance since they since they
01:27joined the Big East.
01:29They had some success early on.
01:31And after Chris Holtman left, they've had they've had some struggle to get back there.
01:36They haven't been back since COVID.
01:38They've been there four times.
01:40But when they were back in the day, they went to the NCAA tournament 11 times.
01:46Yeah, I think it does make a difference.
01:49And I liked Butler basketball the way it was.
01:52I thought they had a beautiful formula to watch the players that they were able to get
01:56into and then mix in some Horizon League players, but really good ones.
02:01And to be able to get to the championship game in 2010 and 2011, to be able to earn
02:07fairly prominent seeds, a number five in one season, I think that that that was it was
02:14a great program.
02:15I don't have a problem with them as a Big East program, but I thought that as a Horizon
02:20League program, there was something extraordinary there.