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.